Naruto the Demonic Swordsman
by Shinobi no Ryu
Summary: After a terrible tragedy where his team is killed Naruto is forever changed. The Kyuubi awakens within him and attempts to take him over. Does Naruto have the will required to fight off his demon and can the Hyuuga Princess help him? Briefly contains OC's
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Welcome to my newest project in fanfiction, Naruto the Demonic Swordsman! I figure what better way to introduce myself than do it Naruto style, as this is a Naruto fic. My real name isn't important, but my pen name is Shinobi no Ryu. My likes include pizza and chocolate, not together. I dislike many types of vegetables, especially asparagus! My dream for the future is to become a famous author. And my hobbies are playing video games and writing.

Now that's out of the way . . .

_**I have an important announcement. Please read this if you read nothing else of the Author Notes. **_This fic contains a few OC's, none of which are central to the story, nor are they the focus. This is focused completely on Naruto and my spinning of his tale. He will be paired with Hinata, but it will be a little slow in the beginning for their relationship. Don't worry though, I won't be ignoring them.

I can't really say too much about the story without giving anything away, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in a review or send me an e-mail.

Finally, I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. The only thing I own are my created characters. Any likeness or similarities between OC's or plot lines are purely coincidental and not an intentional plagiarism.

A light breeze danced through the trees outside of Konoha Academy, causing the leafed branches to gently brush against the glass windows. Bright cheery sunlight poured in from the three large vertical windows, illuminating the students within. One such student was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, the best (or worst, depending on whom you asked) prankster and troublemaker.

At the moment, he was currently resting his head on his hand. He was rubbing and kneading the tender knot that was forming under his blonde hair where his long time crush, Sakura Haruno, had delivered a hammer-like blow with her fist.

_Sakura-chan sure can hit hard. . . ow! Why did she have to go and hit me? It was that stupid punk – who's name I can't remember –who knocked me into Sasuke-teme! _Naruto thought, starting with a pathetic whimper and ending it with a low growl.

He wondered how he went from being on the top of the world to this. He grinned, despite the ebbing pain he felt, thinking about the night before. After failing his genin test, Mizuki had given him a chance to try the test again, but with different curriculum. All he had to do was to steal the forbidden scroll from the Hokage's tower and deliver it to Mizuki.

_If Iruka-sensei hadn't found me when he had, I might of given that traitor the scroll and . . . _Naruto cut his thoughts early, not wanting to even envision what could have been. But, Iruka had found him and even protected him from a fatal blow. He then later stood up for him and said he was proud of him – _him! _Naruto Uzumaki, the drop-dead last and grand loser of the academy!

Using a strength he hadn't known he had, Naruto was able to easily defeat Mizuki by surprising him with the forbidden ninjutsu technique Kage Bunshin. To top off defeating a Chunin single-handedly, Iruka-sensei gave him his own personal hitai-ate! It might have been covered in scratches and dings, the blue cloth faded with age, but it was the most beautiful thing in the world to Naruto. It was a sign that his precious person truly cared about him.

Naruto looked down at the source of his discomfort from earlier, Sasuke Uchiha, or better know to the blonde ninja as asshole-who's-hair-looks-like-a-chicken's-ass. But, because the latter takes too long to say, he just settles for bastard.

_I'd like to see him take down a chunin! He's lucky I can't tell anyone about last night or I'd be getting all his fan-girls! _Naruto laughed mischievously as he thought about the pathetic and heartbroken expression on Sasuke's face as he was abandoned by all his previous followers.

_He'd be all like, "Noo! Naruto give them back, even though I'm gay!" then I'd just laugh at him and take off into the sunset with Sakura-chan! _This time, Naruto's laughter was louder and slightly muffled by the swollen cheek that was also courtesy of the earlier event. This drew quite a few looks, but all the students quickly ignored him, used to his idiotic breakouts of laughter.

As his thoughts started turning more PG, he gained a very small blush on his face as he imagined having his first kiss with Sakura. Because that. . . _man kiss _. . . would _NOT _be his first one! He refused to acknowledge it. Or the taste of tomatoes in his mouth. He grimaced and put his hands over his head as he started violently rubbing his head, trying to somehow erase the memory in his mind.

Across the room, a young girl with silky black, almost purple hair, watched Naruto with her clear lavender eyes. She giggled so quietly when he started laughing, that even if someone had heard it over him, they would of assumed it to be nothing. She was Hinata Hyuuga, princess of the Hyuuga clan and the only female in Konoha who could honestly say she liked the blonde ninja. She felt her face start to heat up as she thought about her crush and began her nervous motion of poking her index fingers together. She didn't quite know when she started this mundane showing of embarrassment, but she was quite sure it was because of Naruto.

Every day, she wished she could somehow summon the courage to walk over to him and sit with him. If to do nothing else but sit with him and say hello. She cursed herself for being so weak. All she could do was follow him from the shadows and watch. She saw how everyone in the village would look at him with cold, even hateful, eyes and how he would ignore it like one would ignore the rock they walked by everyday. He would smile and walk with his head held high.

She knew that smile, it was one that he put up for others – not for himself. Every now and then, when he was sure nobody was looking, Hinata would witness as his beaming face would shift into one of unspeakable and unbearable sadness. A face that only said he wanted a friend.

When she witnessed him like that, her heart ached and her eyes would summon unwanted tears, waiting to be shed for her innocent and pure love.

_Why?_ She asked herself, _Why does everyone hate you so? _

The young princess had no more time to mull over her crush as she felt a faint chakra signature emanate from the center of class milliseconds before a large cloud of smoke and leaves erupted from nothing soon revealing their scarred and bandaged teacher, Iruka Umino.

Iruka had a gentle smile on his face as he looked over his many students whom he had taught over the past three years. His smile faltered for just a moment as his mind involuntarily started replacing faces among the crowd of children. He recognized the incorporeal faces well.

He had been an instructor at the Academy for six years, in which time he had taught two class groups, this one being the second. He watched with pride as his previous students ascended the shinobi ranks, some already jonin. But, the faces that flickered ontop others were ones whom he would never see achieve that prestigious rank. The day he had become an instructor, the Hokage had pulled him aside and warned him of a problem being an academy instructor faces.

Death.

Not his own, but of his students. He knew it was foolish to even think that he would of never of encountered it, but so far three students had died from his last class. All of them had been on the same team, all of them killed in the Chunin exams by ruthless ninja from other countries.

On average, most Genin stay that rank for two to three years before succeeding in the Chunin exams, others either give up or die in the line of duty. Their Jonin sensei's only know them for that period of time, and when they're considered soldiers of Konoha. But for academy teachers, they see them when they're still children, six times a week and for eight hours each day. The death of the once bright and young students always hit home.

Iruka shook his head, smiling again at his students, trying to will the unpleasant thoughts away. That kind of thinking should be done over a large bottle of liquor, not during graduation.

"Good to see you all decided to show up on time today – _Shikamaru," _Iruka spoke, gaining laughter from his class, "I'll be reading your names off a list and you'll meet your new squad leaders after I've announced your team." He gave them a moment to cheer as they all started excitingly talked amongst themselves.

"Settle down, or else you won't be able to hear me when I . . ." he started, but the talking continued. His eye twitched as a blood vessel visibly popped on his forehead. Clenching his fist, he took a deep breath and unleashed his special teacher jutsu, appropriately named _Shut the Hell Up! _"_QUIET!" _

His voice blasted through the room and set off primal fear in all the students, even the legendary Sasuke who had been quiet felt a jolt run down his spine. They all sat straight in their seats and gave full undivided attention to their sensei.

Just like a certain purple haired homicidal bi-polar special jonin, Iruka went from pissed to happy as his smile returned in a matter of seconds. "Thank you! Now I'll start calling out the team names, after which your instructors will lead you outside to meet with you. Team One . . ."

Iruka's voice trailed off as three young shinobi in the room all kept special attention to his announcements, hanging off each one. All thought similar in idea, but certain things were changed.

_Oh please let me be on the same team as Sasuke-kun! _Thought one in particular, although the idea was rather popular among the female population, and one guy.

_C'mon Iruka-sensei! I didn't leave that note attached to a box of dumplings outside your door for nothing! Put me on the team with Sakura-chan! _Thought another.

_Naruto-kun . . . _came the last, timid thought.

"Team Seven: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno – *burp* Oh, excuse me!" Iruka laughed, blushing as he scratched the back of his head. Those dumplings were tasty, if not bought in vain.

As Sakura danced in joy, and many others wailed in despair, Naruto was against the edge of his desk leaning forward, palms lying flat against the table, having abandoned his chair for it wasn't close enough to Iruka's words as he would of liked.

". . . and Kiba Inazuka. Your instructor will be - "

"_Whaaat? _Iruka-sensei, no way!" Naruto yelled out, jumping onto his desk, his hands held on his head in dismay as his face reflected the feeling of betrayal.

"Naruto sit back down! I'm sorry you don't like it but I don't make these teams!" Iruka yelled back, feeling truly sorry for the knucklehead. He knew his feelings for Sakura, but there really was nothing he could do.

Grumbling darkly to himself, Naruto jumped back down and slouched in his chair and crossed his arms, pouting. _I hope those dumplings give you the runs, jerk! _He yelled mentally, he knew Iruka didn't deserve it, but still!

"Team Eight: Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Jin Kisaragi. Your instructor will be Kurenai Yuuhi."

Hinata frowned and dropped her hands from their clasped position sighing, she really hoped she could be on the same team as Naruto. Looking over at him, she couldn't help but laugh a little seeing his pouting. He was really cute when he did that. The thought alone made her blush as she walked down the stairs towards a beautiful kunoichi with black curly hair, eyes the color of blood and the body a woman would kill for and men would massacre to be with.

One by one, students slowly left the room, escorted by a jonin. Save for Team Seven, who's instructor seemed to be running late. Naruto began looking around the room, trying to guess who his teammates would be. Finally, there were only two other boys in the class who hadn't been assigned.

"Lastly, Team Thirteen: Naruto Uzumaki, Kazuma Shiro, and Shin Migazuchi. Your instructor will be Kenshin Ryomu."

Naruto had been bummed earlier about not being on the same team as Sakura, but at least he could still see her around the village. Although, she was good at avoiding him . . .

Pushing that thought aside, he started to feel excited again as he watched the sliding door open, revealing his new sensei.

He wore the usual jonin attire, but he left the jacket halfway zipped up revealing a silver necklace with a lion's head roaring to all who viewed it. His hair was a very strange blonde, more white than anything else but had a blonde tint. It grew to shoulder length and he had the back end pulled into a small ponytail with two small strands framing his attractive face. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets and was smiling up at his three students with a infectious grin. He stood at almost six feet two inches, tall for a normal resident of Konoha.

Naruto jumped ontop his desk and soared over the others with a massive jump, earning a shout from Iruka. He couldn't careless at the moment, as he just wanted to impress his new sensei.

"Nice jump there kid," he started, winking at Naruto. Then, looking up at the other two genin candidates, who were walking down the stairs like normal people, he motioned them to follow as he walked out the door; Naruto hot on his heels. "Save the introductions till we get to the lunchroom. Easier to only have to say it once." He had been so excited about meeting his new teacher, Naruto had never taken the opportunity to get a proper look at his other teammates. He almost felt a little ashamed of himself – almost.

Walking behind him and to his right, was a boy he faintly recognized. Naruto didn't look it, nor did anyone think it, but he actually paid a lot of attention to Iruka's lectures. He just couldn't understand a lot of it! It was all far too complicated to him, and he wasn't able to do any studying at home because someone had stolen his scrolls from his home.

Naruto's joyful grin twitched for a millisecond, so fast you'd never notice it unless you were a devoted watcher like Hinata. He shook his head and glanced back at the boy, he remembered now who he was. Kazuma Shiro. He was really neutral about both boys as they had never interacted, he couldn't even remember saying 'hi' to him during class.

Kazuma was of normal height and had short, spiky teal hair with dark green eyes that were serious and cold. His face, while still boyish from being a teenager, already started forming his stone cut jaw and hard set brow. He wore a white short sleeved tunic, that he kept un-tucked over his black pants. The right leg had old, worn bandages going from ankle to knee, tightly binding the cloth. Over his shirt, he wore a black jacket that had the sleeves torn off and had a large red ANBU symbol embroidered on the back.

While Naruto thought he looked cool, there was one thing about him he couldn't get. He wore black ninja sandals, with black socks. He had _never _seen that before. He put it on his 'definitely bug this person about that' list, and gave it no more thought as he swiveled his head over to the other boy.

Shin Migazuchi, he had medium length black hair that was straight to a fault. His eyes were dark purple and he stood only a inch taller than Naruto. He was a bit heavyset, unlike Kazuma who had well defined muscles that seemed almost unnatural for a teen his age. But any fat jokes were more than decided against when Naruto looked at the large mace that he had strapped to his back. If you could even call it that, all it was is a large smooth ball of steel attached to a steel handle that was four feet in length. He wore a black t-shirt, the sleeves were strange as the left one was long, while the right was short. He also wore white shorts that went down to his shins. Along his left arm he wore a metal forearm protector which was attached to black spandex that tightly gripped his arm and hand. The back of his hand also had a separate metal plate, with points at the end where his knuckles are.

All in all, Naruto thought he had some pretty cool teammates. It was a plus that he couldn't remember either of them. To him, it was almost like starting over with a clean fresh slate. Maybe. . . he could actually make some friends. Naruto once again felt the pulling of his heartstrings as he thought of it, but wasn't able to concentrate on it as he looked up and realized he was in the lunchroom with Kenshin having already taken the liberty of sitting atop a nearby table.

Kenshin cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his students and sat back in a relaxed manner. "Well all, it's good to meet you. I thought we'd go through the normal crap of introducing ourselves the way everyone else does. Boring, but effective. All you do is give your name, likes and dislikes, along with your dreams for the future." He started, looking at each of his soldiers faces, making sure they understood. "I'll go first to give ya an idea. The name's Kenshin Ryomu, my likes include beautiful women and manga. I hate fish and milk, I wish they would both burn and die. My hobbies include collecting women in my basement." As Kenshin trailed off, his face turned into an evil grin that stretched from ear to ear.

All three students' faces broke into horrified stares, all of them about ready to bolt.

Kenshin's face stayed that way the entire time until he saw his student's go into a paralyzed fear. That caused him to bust out laughing. "Look at you all! _Ha! _Fooled you all with that! That's the _oldest _trick in the book."

Naruto glared at the older man, but had to admit it was a little funny, if not weird as all hell.

"But really, my hobbies include painting and my dream is to get Kurenai to go out with me, but trying to date the Ice Queen herself is rather challenging. But the chase is half the fun, am I right guys? . . . guys?" Kenshin asked, his voice trailing off at the end, seeing the dumbfounded looks they were giving him. "Uh. . . never mind then." He finished shaking his head, adolescent boys these days!

Kazuma, who seemed the most unfazed by their strange sensei, stepped forward and speaking in a voice reflecting his looks. "My name is Kazuma Shiro, I like training and fruit, I dislike civilians who are disrespectful to shinobi and my dreams are to one day surpass my parents and become head of ANBU. My hobby is taking care of my banzai tree."

Kenshin smiled and nodded as Kazuma stepped back into the group. _I thought the name sounded familiar, I remember his parents back when I was genin. They were always crazy strong, everyone knew they'd make the higher ranks in no time. _

Naruto stepped up next, a toothy grin plastered on his face. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki! I love ramen, especially miso ramen, and I _hate _Sasuke Uchiha!" he shouted out, making the other two boys snicker remembering the fierce man kiss. Naruto shot a glare back at them, before continuing. "My dream is to one day become Hokage and show everyone in this village that they're wrong about me and then they'll finally respect me! Believe it!"

His face falling into a small frown, Kenshin knew what he meant by making the villagers wrong about him. He knew he was the Kyuubi's jailer and the village pariah. He wondered if even him becoming Hokage would change all the hate directed at him? He could only really hope so, no one deserved what this boy goes through _every _day_. _

Shin stepped up next, his mace tapping the floor with a loud clang as he re-adjusted it on his shoulder strap. "Name's Shin Migazuchi, I like horror movies and pineapple juice. I dislike people who make fun of others for how they look, and my dream for the future is to one day marry a pretty girl and have a family. My hobby is writing and making models."

_Man talk about an ambitious guy. _Kenshin thought chuckling to himself. To each his own though, he supposed. Then, he hopped off the table and dusted off his rear. "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, it's time you learn about the next test you have to take."

"Wait a minute! _Another _damn test – what the hell?" Naruto exclaimed, not believing his ears.

Kazuma looked over at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "You mean you didn't know about the second test?" he asked, his voice bordering on condescending but somehow remaining neutral.

"Y'know, not all of us have ANBU parents who divulge stuff they shouldn't, Kazuma-dono." Shin replied, not knowing about the second test either but, guessed how Kazuma knew. Kazuma just looked away embarrassed and mumbled to himself.

Kenshin blinked twice and started twirling his pinky in his ear, trying to clear out the wax that formed to protect his hearing from the blonde's outburst. "Yes, Naruto. . . there is a second test because we have to make sure that this team works together well."

Naruto instantly calmed down and his mouth dropped into a 'o'. Then, he smirked and threw his arms around his unwilling teammates shoulders and drew them in near. "No problem Kenshin-sensei! We'll be the best team Konoha's ever seen, right guys?" he yelled again, causing his teammates to wince.

"Sure Naruto-dono, just stop yelling like that or we'll all go deaf!" Shin pleaded rubbing his ear.

Naruto looked a bit bashful and apologized sincerely before Kenshin interrupted them. "Alright, meet me at training ground thirteen tomorrow at nine A.M. You'll learn more about the test then, so try to not lose sleep over it. It's only your shinobi career riding on it!" With the final taunting word, he preformed the shushin jutsu, leaving smoke and leaves in his wake.

All three looked a bit unnerved by his last few words, until Naruto decided to speak up to attempt to boost morale. "Don't worry about it guys! I wasn't kidding earlier when I said we'll be the most awesomest team the entire village has ever seen!"

Shin laughed, wondering how that sentence worked grammatically and gave Naruto a thumbs up while Kazuma just grunted, but a ghost of smile was on his face. Then, hoping against hope, Naruto swallowed his fear and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Hey, would you guys like to get something to eat?" He braced himself as he waited for the inevitable answer that he prayed wouldn't show just this once.

"Sure Naruto-dono, I'd love to. I'm sure Kazuma-dono is hungry as well." Shin replied looking over at the last team member who only shifted his gaze between the other two. After sighing, he nodded and uncrossed his arms.

"Sure, I could go for something."

Naruto smiled and jumped up, immediately starting in about how awesome Ichiraku's Ramen is, but inside he was crying.

And for the first time, it was tears of pure joy.

That next morning, Naruto couldn't help but have a bounce to his step. After he and his team had gone out to lunch they hung out all afternoon at Kazuma's place. He even got to meet his parents, who didn't give him a single cold stare! In fact, his mother Mai, was really cool. She was always smiling and even let him wear her ANBU mask for a bit. He was now convinced that he had to join ANBU too, just so he could get that awesome tattoo that they all wore. Kazuma's dad, Fuma, explained to him that the tattoo was a reminder to suppress emotion, at least on missions. Fuma doubted that Naruto would ever lose his passion, but tried to explain to him that those kind of feelings could get his team in trouble. At the time, Naruto didn't really get what he meant.

He arrived at the training grounds at nine A.M sharp, seeing his friends waiting there for him. _Friends. . . what an awesome word. . ._ Naruto mused, smiling and waving at them. They both waved back and Naruto jogged towards them to close the distance quickly.

"Morning Naruto, looks like we beat Kenshin-sensei here." Shin said, looking around to see if maybe he'd pop up right then.

"Ha, I bet he got lost or something." Naruto snickered in reply, dropping his backpack full of ninja tools on the ground. Looking around, he didn't see anything too unusual about these training grounds. It sat in a large clearing, surrounded by tall trees. In the distance, he could see three wooden training posts, all weathered by age and continuous abuse. A large lake sat in the middle of the grounds, with two rivers, one feeding into it and the other flowing from it. Shrugging, he sat down and figured Kenshin would show up soon.

Ten minutes later, they all started wondering where the hell their sensei was, when they heard a nearby tree rustle and Kenshin landed in front of them looking worse for wear, almost like he'd been beaten up. His clothes were disheveled and he was sprouting a large red mark on his cheek. "Yo! Sorry I'm late," he said with a wave.

Shin looked at the blood running down his nose and looked worried, "What the hell happened Kenshin-sensei? Did you come under attack?"

"Nah," Kenshin replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "I just tried to ask Kurenai out. Damn that woman is crazy!" _I bet she fucks like a tiger! _He added mentally, with a perverted grin.

All three sweat dropped and Shin slapped his face. "Well, then I take it she said 'no'?" he asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Yep! It's the thirty . . . one, two. . . thirty-fourth time she's turned me down. This time she beat me up to try and get her point across."

Naruto just shook his head wondering how someone could be so dense! "Are you gonna try again? I mean look what she did to you!" he asked.

"Yep!" was his simple reply, which earned a collective groan from his students. Kenshin Ryomu was a persistent man, it ran in his blood! "Besides, Ryomu men are all passionate lovers and unwaivering suitors! It's how all my ancestors landed their wives! How could I face them in the afterlife if I quit now? One day Kurenai the Ice Queen will be mine! AHAHAHA!" He shouted, poising in a heroic stance. His laughter echoed throughout the training ground, causing his students to almost go blue.

_Why did I get this moron for a sensei? Ugh. . . _Kazuma thought, dropping his head. His parents warned him that Kenshin was a famous womanizer, but he had no idea that it was to this extent.

"Anyways, it's time for the test." He spoke after his laughter died down, causing his students to all give him their attention. "The test is simple, the first person to land a solid blow to my face will become a genin, while the other two are . . . _sent back to the academy!" _He yelled the last part dramatically, trying to strike as much fear as he could into their hearts.

All three, however, just gave him strange looks. "Wait a minute," Naruto started stepping forward, "yesterday you said this test was going to test our teamwork. This test doesn't make sense. If you sent two of us back, there'd be no point, we'd just have to keep redoing the test with other new genin." he asked, his words showing more wisdom than he normally had.

Kenshin's jaw dropped as he stared at him. _Wait. . . how did he. . . did he say __**I **__told him yesterday? _Coughing, he tried to play it off cool, "Well, while I congratulate you for figuring it out – I said no such thing."

"Yes you did." Shin chipped in.

Kenshin glared at him and shook his head, turning his back to them. "No way." There was no way in hell he'd do something _that _stupid. The Hokage would kill him.

"Yes, you did." Kazuma spoke up, his usual stoic voice painted with a light humorous tone. He was actually enjoying watching his teacher sweat.

And sweat he did, as Kenshin started fervently racking his brain for the memories of yesterday. Then, he grimaced as it surfaced. _"Yes, Naruto. . . there is a second test because we have to make sure that this team works together well."_

"Fuck." Was all he muttered as spun around, shooting a serious look at the three. "Listen up, don't you dare tell _anyone _about this. _Especially _the Hokage! Or I swear to God I'll make your lives miserable!"

Naruto stifled a laugh but smiled a evil foxish grin at his sensei, he was so going to store this information in his blackmail drawer. "Sure, sure Kenshin-sensei! Does this mean that we don't have to take the test?" he asked, knowing they had him by the short and curlies.

"Oh no, you still have to take it. Just cause you know the purpose of the test doesn't mean you're in the clear. You have to still prove you can work like a team. It's simple, our team was designed to be shock-nin's –"

"Shock-nin's?" Naruto asked, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

Before Kenshin could yell at him for interrupting, Kazuma spoke up. "Shock-nin's are basically heavy combat fighters. Our job would be in a large fight to be the first in and to break up enemy formations. It's really only effective during times of war, but we're still expected to be better fighters than most."

Naruto's face lit up at the implications of what he said. "Awesome! So does that mean they picked us 'cause we're the best at combat? This is freakin' sweet!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"Actually Naruto, _you _were picked because of the fact you can preform the Kage Bunshin jutsu. It's invaluable for breaking up enemy formations." Kenshin spat, his voice laced with sarcasm and some venom. He had a pet peeve for people interrupting him.

Naruto just growled at the older man and decided to ignore him.

"As I was saying . . . _before_ _someone interrupted_ _me . . . _your test will be to simply land a solid punch on my face and you only have three hours to do it."

Shin raised his eyebrow in confusion, remembering all the complicated tests most Jonin made their teams go through. "That's it? Just punch you?"

"Yep, but you better come at me with the intent to kill – or you'll never hit me." Kenshin laughed, eyes gleaming with confidence.

"Hah!" Naruto laughed rolling up his sleeves, "that'll be easy enough, ready guys?" he asked, pulling out a kunai. The other two nodded, Shin grasping his gigantic mace, and Kazuma settled into a fighting stance.

_Overconfidence will be their . . . _he started, before a small prickle on the back of his neck warned him about impending doom. Spinning around, he saw five Naruto's soaring through the air towards him, all wielding kunai. _When did he? _Kenshin started, spinning to the left dodging the nearest clone's lunge and countered with a roundhouse.

As the clone disappeared with a puff of smoke, Naruto smirked, glad Kazuma had come up with that plan while they had been waiting for their truant teacher.

_"Naruto," Kazuma spoke up, gaining the blonde's curious attention, "you can preform the Kage Bunshin correct?" _

_"Yeah, yeah, why what's up? Wanna check it out? It's totally aw –" _

_"No, I want you to summon a few and have them hide in the bushes." Kazuma said, interrupting the blonde mid-sentence._

_"Okay, but why?" Naruto asked confused. _

_Smirking, he replied, "Easy, to lay a trap." _

Naruto remembered that was one of his stoic teammates specialties, traps along with ninjutsu. Kazuma also mentioned his taijutsu was rather weak, so Shin and he would simply have to make up in that area while Kazuma would hang in the back.

Kenshin cursed as he dodged not only another clone attack but a sweep of the real one's leg causing him to be in a mid-air roll. He easily caught himself again on his legs and used his momentum to deliver a fatal right hook to clone to his left, that was trying to take advantage of his once unbalanced state. Then, he gasped as he heard the sound of a large object rapidly flying through the air, straight towards him. Looking up, he saw the black steel mace rapidly closing in on his head. _Shit, not good! _

Shin hesitated for a millisecond as his mace connected with a large crack against his sensei's skull, slamming him to the ground, and he wondered with dread if he killed him. "Oh shit – sensei!" he yelled, but after lifting his mace, he was confused to see a smashed log where Kenshin's smashed skull should be.

"Crap a substitution!" Kazuma yelled, and his finely tuned ears twitched as he heard a rustling of bushes and a familiar sound of metal cutting through the air. "Move!" he yelled again, dropping to ground along with his teammates. Three kunai passed over their bodies harmlessly, but found the intended marks in the remaining clones behind them.

"Not bad kiddo's!" Kenshin spoke, his voice ringing out from seeming nothingness, confusing the three to-be genin as to his location. "But it'll take more than that to take me out. You shouldn't underestimate a jonin, I didn't get this title by gardening, y'know?" he ended it with a echoing laugh that caused the three to keep their heads on a swivel as they all backed up into a triangular formation, to protect each other's backs.

They all slowly examined the line of trees that surrounded them, keep a sharp eye out for any unusual movements when their sensei's voice broke through the veil of silence.

"Doton: Liquid Earth Jutsu!"

Before they could react, the ground underneath their feet suddenly turned to a consistency less thick than mud, but just as sticky. All three were sunk down to their shoulders in the mud and starting struggling as hard as they could against it.

Kenshin appeared from his hiding spot in a bush and laughed as he watched them all struggle in vain against the mud. "It's no use, that's a capture technique that virtually inescapable. All I gotta do now is let you stew in that for the next three hours then 'bam', you all fail."

"Bastard-sensei! No fair!" Naruto yelled out, trying his best to pull his arms above the mud, but it was steadily getting more concrete like. He had to calm himself down as soon as he started to feel it begin to form back into solid earth, there was no way his sensei would let them die. . . right?

Kenshin walked away humming, deciding to take a walk into the forest. _I'm sure they'll figure a way out soon enough. But if they don't. . . oh well, at least I won't have to worry about being an instructor for a while. _

Naruto let loose a final insult to his sensei's retreating figure and redoubled his efforts to break free of the doton from hell. He smiled as he felt his arms slowly move through the ever hardening mud. _Gotta get there before. . .! _Before he could finish his thought however, the ground seized up and became solid. "Damn!" he yelled out frustrated.

"Don't worry Naruto," Kazuma whispered.

"Huh?" Naruto replied in confusion, wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"Before I got trapped, I put my hands in the seal for a substitution."

"Why the hell didn't you use that earlier then?" Naruto yelled, pissed that he had struggled so much when Kazuma could of just escaped and helped him out.

"Because if he had, Kenshin-sensei would of probably ran Kazuma-dono off." Shin explained calmly.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

Kazuma sighed and shook his head, then looked around to make sure the coast was clear before substituting himself with a nearby rock. Once out, he got to work digging out Naruto's hands so he could summon some Kage Bunshin's to help him get Shin out next.

Nearby in a tree hidden by two larger ones, Kenshin watched with a small smile gracing his face. "I think they might just be able to pull it off after all." he spoke softly, getting nostalgic about his own sensei. "Guess I can leave them alone now and not worry about it." With that, he silently jumped off into the forest, preparing for the next encounter.

"Guys, listen up," Naruto started, after they dusted themselves off, "I got a plan."

An hour later, Kenshin sighed as he strolled back into the clearing with his hands held clasped behind his head. He wished he had brought a manga with him, but he didn't think it would be this boring. Dropping his arms, he looked around for his students but didn't see them anywhere. "The hell? Are they waiting for me or . . ." Then, hearing a noise, he quickly jumped back into the bushes nearby. Listening closely, he heard three distinct female voices. _Mature _female voices.

"Rei . . . you know we're not supposed to be here! This is for civilians only!" One said, sounding scared.

"Can it Noriko, you both know that this training ground is _never _used. Besides, who could get angry at a beautiful woman like me?" The other, whom Kenshin assumed was Rei, spoke next.

He decided that he was in no danger of being found out and peeked through the bush and a perverted giggle left his lips as he beheld three beautiful women walking through the clearing and towards the lake.

The first who had spoken, Noriko, had shoulder length black hair and dark purple eyes. She wore a t-shirt over normal sized breasts. From what he could tell, she only had a pair of short denim shorts on, but they were mostly covered by the large t-shirt.

He saw another beautiful girl walking along side them, who had a ditzy look on her face, but was quiet. She had long, beautiful teal hair and bright green eyes. She seemed a bit more willing to be here than her friend, or she just didn't realize the implications of being caught here. She wore a grey tank top and he could see a bikini top underneath it. She also had a pair of white cargo shorts.

The last one, Rei was quite stunning to Kenshin, but couldn't compare to his goddess Kurenai. She had blonde pigtails and shining blue eyes. Definitely the more adventurous one, she brazenly wore her orange bikini top by itself, which held impressive and full,plump breasts. The only thing she had covering her orange bikini bottom was a light see through cloth tied to her waist that billowed down to the ground. The only odd thing about her was that she had three whisker marks on each cheek.

_Wait . . . whisker marks? Tch, dammit Naruto! And here I thought I was gonna be able to relax with some beautiful women. _Angered, he had to hold himself back from flying out and pummeling the 'girls'. But, he decided that he'd 'fall into this clever trap' and then see the look on their faces when he told them he knew it all along. Besides, the other two girls had the same features as Kazuma and Shin. There was no way it was a coincidence.

Deciding to hang back a bit longer, he continued to watch as the three girls chatted happily among themselves and stripped down to their bikinis once by the lake. Feeling a warm blush creep up to his face, he didn't know if he should be concerned that he was getting turned on by the three women. _I mean, they're freakin' hot, but they're dudes. . . _As he watched, he examined the area around the three closely, looking for any sort of trap but only say wet, glistening, cleavage. Feeling warm liquid trickle out of his nose he shook his head and abruptly stood. "As a man of honor, I cannot allow this charade to go on!"

Hearing a foreign sound, the unidentified girl snapped her head over to the bushes where she heard it. Seeing a strange man emerge from them, made her screech and dunk her body under the water. Looking to where her friend screamed, Noriko looked horrified as she spoke to Rei. "See! I told you we'd get in trouble for this! Oh man, my mom's gonna kill me!" she shouted.

Rei, on the other hand just stood in the lake defiantly, her fists curled on her hips. "Don't worry, I'll talk our way out of this."

Kenshin neared, walking with a righteous purpose as he zeroed in on 'Rei'. But, before he could open his mouth to speak, she beat him to it.

"Hey there cutie!" she started, waving flirtatiously, "Wanna come join us?"

For a moment, he was stunned, his eyes drawn like a moth to flames at her ample, wet, breasts. Shaking his head he brought his gaze back up. "Naruto, I know what your playing at! Stop it already."

She looked confused but just shrugged as she ran out of the pool and sauntered up to him. Once she was close enough, she gently started circling a finger on his chest and leaned against him. "I think I know what's going on. . . you just wanna be alone with me, you hot ninja stud." She rhetorically asked, giggling at the end.

Growling in his mind, he knew Naruto wasn't brazen enough to do this personally, it had to be a shadow clone. Forming a fist, he drew it back and delivered a swift jab into the girls solar plexus.

Rei choked on her breath and fell to her knees, grabbing her stomach, while her friends screamed. He blinked once, as he watched the girl slump over and start crying while coughing violently. Then, before he could get a proper thought organized, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Sensei? Why the hell did you do that?"

Whipping around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash, Kenshin beheld with horror as he saw Naruto, Kazuma, and Shiro all coming out from behind a bush looking like they were about to sneak attack him.

_Oh crap did I just . . . _Looking back down, he saw Rei still there, clutching her stomach, her coughing subsiding but she still cried painfully. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Rei and picked her up. "Shit, I am _so _sorry I just –' His sentence was cut short by a small female fist that slammed into his face. Looking over the fist, he saw Rei giving him a smirk and then erupt into a cloud of smoke as Naruto dropped the henge. Behind him the other two girls transformed into Naruto look a likes, and then disappeared.

"We win." Naruto said triumphantly.

Still shocked, he glanced back over at the other team and watched as Kazuma and Shin gave each other a high five, while the Naruto that was with them disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Blinking once, he looked back at Naruto, who still had his fist connected to his cheek.

"I'll be damned." He spoke, in a muffled voice as a fist impeded his speech.

Naruto lowered his fist and just gave him a foxy grin.

_Heh, maybe teaching these guys won't be so bad after all . . ._

And so ends Chapter one, I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, feel free to hit the review button and tell me what you think. I love everything from shameless flattery, well placed criticism and even flames, for they make me laugh at their baseless accusations. Unless they do have a point, then I just cry and wonder why everyone's being so mean to me.

'Till the next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. The only thing I own are my created characters. Any likeness or similarities between OC's or plot lines are purely coincidental and not an intentional plagiarism.

For the newly formed Team Thirteen, the next few months seemed to fly by as they fell into the normal routine of being genin. Three times a week they met for an all day training session, and three times a week they'd go do D-rank missions. Leaving a day for free time in which they all liked to hang out and have fun around Konoha. Kenshin usually joined them, but sometimes declined saying he had to continue his quest. The rest of Team Thirteen knew what that meant, he was going to try and ask his 'goddess' Kurenai out, then get pummeled as a result.

One time, Naruto happened upon his sensei as he was escorting a duck around town, looking happier than he ever saw him. While his first thought was bestiality, he soon discovered Kenshin had been placed under a genjutsu to believe that duck was Kurenai. Feeling sorry for the guy, he tried to snap him out of it, but was unable to get to him with words, so a hard right hook to the chin sufficed. He was heartbroken to find out that it wasn't Kurenai, but with a sad smile to Naruto he confessed it was the best date he ever had.

_"Huh? What do you mean Kenshin-sensei? You were parading around with a duck! You're lucky I stopped ya before you got to the kiss! Ke ke ke!" Naruto laughed. _

_ Kenshin, still holding the duck nodded, slowly stroking the fowls feathers. "It might have been a duck the entire time, but. . . I saw Kurenai. I was really happy then." _

_ Naruto stopped laughing and his smile fell, looking into his sensei's eyes he could see an unspoken longing and sadness behind them. All the time he'd seen his sensei talk about Kurenai it reminded him about trying to chase Sakura, it made him wonder if was that obnoxious about it. But. . . there was a difference. He had never looked the way his sensei did now when he was rejected. He looked like his heart had been ripped out and stomped on violently. With Sakura, he felt an attraction but only so far as a crush. He didn't know if he could call it love, he didn't really know what it was. _

_ "Sensei, do you . . .love her?" he asked, having difficulty saying the 'L' word. His reaction was immediate as a small smile tugged at his melancholy. _

_ He nodded again in response. "Yea, I do. . . I've been in love with her ever since we were at the academy. For ten years, I've tried to forget her or move on, but every time I went out with a different girl I couldn't help but compare her to Kurenai. No matter what I do, I just can't forget I love her." _

_ Silence reigned for a moment, the heartfelt confession echoing within Naruto's heart. Then, Kenshin jumped in shock as Naruto dropped to his knees and began to dramatically cry. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard! Oh man, that sucks!" he shouted, drawing looks from villagers passing the bench they sat on. They couldn't tell what was more strange, a young genin crying or the jonin holding a duck. _

_ "H-hey stop that Naruto!" Kenshin whispered harshly, his face reflecting his chagrin about his idiotic pupil. _

_ "I-I can't help it though! You poor bastard!" _

_ Kenshin slapped his face as he tried to somehow become one with the bench by pressing himself into it harder. Anything to get the villagers eyes off him. _

_ Then, abruptly stopping, Naruto wiped his eyes with his sleeve and jumped up. Slamming his feet down as he landed, he turned to Kenshin and pointed with his index finger, as though it would deliver his message. "Right then! I'm gonna help you get her Kenshin-sensei! Believe it!" he shouted, ending with his famous phrase. _

_ Kenshin's jaw dropped slightly, shocked at not only how fast he got over his crying fit, but also the care his student was showing for him. But, he shook his head, still feeling depressed. "Naruto . . . thank you but, I can't see how you could help. I can tell she hates me." _

_ "Ha!" Naruto laughed, placing his curled up fists onto his hips. "Clearly you don't know who I am!" _

_ "Uh. . . Naruto Uzumaki?" Kenshin replied, wondering what the hell he was getting at. The duck even seemed confused as it tilted it's head. _

_ "No! – I mean yes, but that's not all! I am. . ." he gave a dramatic pause, as he shifted his body and posed into a dramatic kabuki stance, "Naruto Uzumaki! Legendary Matchmaking Ninja of the Elemental Lands! Toh!" _

_ Kenshin blinked slowly as he stared at the blonde ninja who stayed perfectly still, staring back at him with purpose and a low dramatic hum. "Naruto you . . ." he started, his voice a bare whisper, feeling a surge of emotion rush into his downtrodden heart as he felt the unconditional support the boy radiated. "I think you're the best friend I've ever had, thank you." He finished with a smile he didn't know he possessed. _

_ Naruto shook off the pose and slammed his fist into his palm, a gigantic grin plastered on his face. "Okay! Then just leave it to me sensei! Kurenai will be falling for you in no time! Believe it!" Then, without giving him any warning or chance to reply, he lept away from Kenshin, determined to make his precious person happy. _

_ Kenshin tried to say something before the boy took off, but didn't get a chance. Chuckling to himself, he stood and watched the blonde sprint out of view. "That kid makes me tired just looking at him . . ." he whispered, and his only reply was a light quack. Looking down he smiled at the duck and held him at arms length. "C'mon duckie, let's get you back to the park." _

"Naruto, are you okay?"

A voice made Naruto snap his head up from the now lukewarm bowl of ramen. He'd been just pushing the ingredients around as he thought back to earlier that day. Looking up, he saw the wrinkled face of Ichiraku looking at him with some concern. He was the proprietor of Naruto's favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku Ramen. "Yea, thanks for asking Ojisan! Just thinking about stuff." He replied, feeling bashful getting caught off guard like that.

"Stuff? It's gotta be something big to make you stop eating." A female voice giggled, making Naruto's face blush out of chagrin. He was famous around here for his eating abilities after all.

"Ne, Ayane-neesan, don't make fun of me like that! It's really serious!" he pleaded, looking into the older girl's sparkling brown eyes. Ayane was an average girl in all aspects, someone who'd be good for an average guy. She was also the first girl who was nice to her, so he 'officially' adopted her as his sister.

"Oh? Is it now, and what is it? Girl trouble?" she asked, having fun. He was always easy to fluster on the topic. Especially if she started talking about Sakura. She wondered if the girl finally let him take her out?

"Yea, how'd you know?" he replied, his insane level of thickheaded-ness showing through his seemingly innocent question.

She gasped, not thinking that it was really the reason. Leaning forward she put on her best sisterly face. "Okay, Naruto-chan, tell me who the girl is."

"Kurenai, she's being impossible to deal with!"

Her jaw dropped, as she felt her brain go into what-the-hell-did-I-just-hear mode. For a moment all she could do was stutter, being flabbergasted at the young shinobi's declaration. The woman in question had only been in once or twice, but she was still a famous ninja in Konoha.

"What's the matter Ay –"

"N-N-N-Naruto! She's way too old for you! _Of course she's going to refuse!" _she interrupted, amazed at the boy's attempt to date a woman in her mid-twenties.

For a moment, he just looked at the woman dumbfounded, before the electricity bill was finally paid in his head and the lights flickered on. "Huh? _Oh__! _No not me neesan! Kenshin-sensei!"

Now even more confused, she sighed and made the boy tell her the whole story from the beginning. After it was told, she nodded in understanding.

"So, so, can you help me out neesan?" he asked, slapping his hands together, as if in prayer.

Holding her chin, she tilted her head. "Hmm. . .nope!"

Almost falling from his chair, Naruto grabbed the counter top to balance himself before looking up at his adopted sister in exasperation. "What? C'mon that's not fair! You're a girl, you should know about these types of things!" he yelled, begging her to change her mind.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry Naruto, but girls aren't like boys, we aren't all similar and can be figured out like a jutsu. If he's been trying for as long as you told me, there's probably no way she'll ever say yes. I feel bad for the guy, but he really should just give up." she replied, it was true; she really didn't want the guy suffering, he sounded like a good man.

"No way! I won't take that for an answer! I promised I'd help him and I will!" he yelled, making her smile at his determination. "Right after I finish this ramen!"

She laughed, turning away from the massacre of the noodles. Watching Naruto eat sometimes could be scary. She figured it would be pointless to try and dissuade the boy. And who knows? He's the number one knucklehead after all, maybe he could pull it off!

Later, Naruto found himself taking a stroll through the forest on the western outskirts of town, beyond the wall. Now that he had become an adult in the shinobi world, he was allowed to freely pass the gates. He felt that maybe a nice walk would help him come up with a good solution to his sensei's problem. So far, he hadn't been able to come up with anything besides just straight out begging Kurenai. Somehow, he doubted that would work.

He hadn't been this way before, and was enjoying the sights and sounds of the serene forest. It wasn't much different than the ones inside Konoha, but the trees were devoid of kunai marks and areas where they took abuse from a jutsu test. The ground was all dirt and vegetation, not the hard packed soil that was created from years of being fought on top of and bled upon. Wild animals were also abundant outside the city, as deer and other large game weren't allowed to roam inside the walls. One such animal that danced and played outside the walls was a bright orange fox that was currently trying to catch a butterfly.

Naruto looked at the small animal with a smile as it chased the flying insect with playful gusto. It didn't seem as though it wanted to kill it, just to entertain itself with it. Accidentally, he stepped on a small tree branch, a loud crack resonating through the area.

The fox instantly stopped playing with the butterfly and quickly shifted it's head towards Naruto, it's tail straight on end. Sniffing the air for a moment, the boy was sure the fox would bolt, when it just gave the blonde a strange look and started playing with the butterfly again.

Laughing to himself slightly, he wondered if the reason the fox was okay with him was because of the Kyuubi. The thought of the demon he carried inside him, caused the boy to be slowly plagued with fear and confusion. Ever since he'd been made aware of his 'guest', Naruto had no idea how to handle it. Iruka, Sarutobi, no one had explained to him what exactly he should do about it. How do you live with an ancient demon sealed within yourself?

Grimacing, Naruto felt a little sick. He always had a hunch that maybe he was different in some way. When he turned ten, Naruto started having dreams. Horrible dreams, that were memories that he didn't have. He was sure they were memories because they were just way too realistic to be made up within his dream scape. Dreams of other monsters, hellish landscapes and the suffering of innocent humans. One dream, still chilled him to the bone every time he had it. He'd only had it a few times since he became aware of the Kyuubi, but it had shaken him to his very core every time.

The dream always started the same. He was surrounded by death and gore. In the middle of a forest clearing he stood, his body older and mature with age. As if he had a view of himself, he saw his body covered in a cloak of red chakra that easily resembled a fox. The Kyuubi.

Around him, lay the corpses of disfigured men and women wearing tattered and burned cloth of the Konoha shinobi. In his 'mind' Naruto was screaming in pure horror at the scene, for each time he had it the recognizable faces of a few would change. At first, the only ones he saw were Iruka and the Hokage. Then, the bodies and faces started multiplying, they became his teammates and even classmates in the Academy. Then, his demon possessed self would laugh. Laugh a bloodthirsty and maniacal perversion of the expression meant for joy. As he laughed, more Konoha shinobi charged into the clearing, only to be obliterated by the god-like power 'he' commanded. Crying and screaming, he would resist and fight as hard against himself as he could, but to no avail. Then in the worst part of his dream, which was already a nightmare, he would watch as Sakura would come into the clearing, begging him to stop. Screaming, he would beg her to run away, but he was forced to watch as his evil doppelganger would harshly grasp the kunoichi by her head and shoulder. His hands tightened, his long, sharp fingernails digging into her flesh and bone. Then, he would pull.

Before the inevitable motion would be carried out, Naruto had awoken screaming and covered in a thick layer of sweat and tears streaming down his face. He had no idea what the dream was, or what it meant, but it scared him. Normally, if he was a regular person he could shrug it off as a bad dream. But. . . it seemed like it was something that could actually happen. The very thought caused an icy hand to grip his rapidly beating heart and he could feel himself start to grow fearful. His breathing grew shallow and quick. Could he become that. . . thing? He tightly gripped his shirt that lay over his heart, trying his hardest to remove the clenching grasp that made it hurt.

Then, he was ripped from his thoughts and pain by a loud, piercing female scream that emanated from the forest close by. Snapping his head up, his previous thoughts were all but forgotten by the cry for help. "That sounded like it came from over there, I better hurry!" he yelled, wondering if he was gonna get to play hero as he pushed off his planted foot, flying into the forest. Trying his best to focus on the here and now, the emotions from earlier ebbed away as they were replaced by adrenaline. Still, it hovered in the back of his mind, that no matter how he tried, there it would stay.

_Moments Earlier . . . _

Hinata hummed happily to herself as she walked through the forest. It was so nice out here. Sure the forests in Konoha were pleasant enough, but sometimes she would be found by her father's servants who would tell her it was too dangerous to be wandering the forest where she could get hit by a stray jutsu. They would force her to follow them back, saying the Hyuuga gardens were more than sufficient to relax in.

She frowned, her good mood being spoiled by the thought of her 'home'. She didn't believe it could be called such. Ever since her mother died, the compound had become a cold, strange place to the princess. Her father, made sure it was that way.

Smiling wistfully, she remembered how he used to be. No one would guess it now by the frigid looks he gave, but he used to smile. He used to pick her up and play with her. To praise her about what a beautiful girl she was turning into and how strong she would become, in whatever she chose. That was her Daddy, not her Father, who scolded her. Called her weak and how shamed he was that she was the heir to the Hyuuga household. No longer did he hold her, but turned his gaze away from her, after a sparring match where he wouldn't show any quarter to the young girl. She would lay on the ground, beaten and bruised from her tenketsu points being shut down. All she could do was cry and hope he wouldn't turn back around to see her.

Hinata sighed, her thoughts growing increasingly dark. Every night she prayed she could get her Daddy back. But, it never came true. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make her Father proud either.

Her brooding was cut short, as a glint of pink cut into her field of vision. Gasping, she wondered if it was the herb she'd been looking for? Running over and kneeling next to a large oak tree, she saw perfectly aged herbs growing at the base of it's trunk. "A dark green stem with bright pink flowers growing along them, this is it!" she happily exclaimed. She'd been looking all over for this specific specimen all morning. Gently cutting the herb from the bottom, she gingerly placed it in a special pouch reserved just for it. Smiling, she sat down against the tree, deciding to take a break from walking.

_I finally have the ingredients I need to make the curing balm I've been wanting to make. I wonder if I'll be able to give it to Naruto-kun . . . _she ended her thoughts with a shy blush, as she started poking her index fingers together. She would be lying if she said her world didn't revolve around the boy. Either directly or indirectly most of the things she did, she did for him or because of him. He was her inspiration to grow strong. At home, after her father would scold her for being a poor excuse of a Hyuuga heir, she would cry in her room and imagine the blonde ninja comforting her and telling her it'd be alright. That, he believed in her and knew she wasn't weak.

Sighing, she longed to finally discover what it felt like to have that for real. To have him near her, to have him comfort and hold her. She felt her blush deepen as her imagination was allowed to run wild and conjure bright futures that could be possible with the boy.

Possible if only she could get over her accursed shyness. If only she knew why he made her so incapable of speaking to him or even getting near him.

Once, she remembered passing out when following him home one day. She made a mistake and accidentally knocked a trash can over as she walked. She panicked and fled into the alleyway that had luckily been right next to her. Huddling behind a stack of wooden crates, she listened intently as he neared the alley. With each footstep, her heartbeat began to grow louder in her head. Everything else cut off from her senses, the rather putrid smell of trash faded away, and was replaced by the memory of his scent. She couldn't see, as her eyes were tightly clenched. She felt her hands go numb as she grasped her pants tightly. With every step he took, it grew louder, until it was so loud that it replaced her heartbeat and felt like he was actually walking in her head. Then, she went black, pure horror of being caught smashing her heart.

She woke up sometime later, still leaning up against the crates in the dirty alleyway. It took her a moment to recall why she was there, but soon felt ashamed of herself remembering almost being caught. She didn't know why she felt the urge to stalk the boy. She hated classifying herself as a stalker, but that's what she was.

_It's because I'm too weak to even try and be his friend. Father's right about me all I am is a coward. _She rubbed her eyes, feeling a tear start to create itself in her right eye. Sniffing, she let her control go as she cried into her hands.

"Na-Naruto-kun, I just want to be your friend. . . I-I can settle for that," she cried. It wasn't just her own weakness that made her cry, but the first hand knowledge that she could of prevented his childhood of loneliness if she'd just had the courage to talk to him.

_But, if he rejected me . . . I-I would . . . _

Then, she was broken from her lamentation by a deep, low growling that creeped into her hearing from her right. Slowly turning her head, fear growing in her with every movement, her eyes widened as she beheld a gigantic bear no further than thirty feet from her. Massive in size, it's brown fur is dirty and covered in battle scars with other animals. It's large black eyes were boring into pupil-less lavender ones. Shining with old blood, the gigantic teeth drew Hinata's attention as she opened and closed her mouth in a silent scream.

The bear once again growled low before standing straight up, easily dwarfing the small girl still paralyzed by fear.

Her brain was on complete shutdown, as it tried to frantically reboot. She couldn't think straight, her body told to her to get up and run but her muscles were rigid and unresponsive. Total and pure fear gripped her tightly like a vice, as her mind played for her the grizzly ways one could die by a bear. Only one thing passed through her mind, _Please, help me, someone – Naruto! _

Then, the ursine opened it's mouth and unleashed a terrifying, monstrous roar like the loudest thunder clap that promised a horrifying death for the kunoichi.

It was then that her lungs decided to respond, her brain finally allowing two ideas through. Scream. Loud.

The bear fell to it's forepaws and bellowing a battle cry, charged forward. It's massive frame was moved by powerful muscles that could be seen shifting and flexing under it's skin. It opened it's mouth wide, revealing more of it's deadly teeth, ready to shred, rend and devour the princess.

She couldn't close her eyes, she couldn't turn away, she couldn't even scream again. All she could do was stare, transfixed upon the bears gaping maw, saliva being pulled away from the fangs as it ran. She wasn't able to accept her sudden death as she ran her biggest dream through her mind, wanting it to be the last thing she thought.

They say that time slows to an utter crawl when you're about to die, that you get to see your life flash before your eyes. They, are full of shit. Time doesn't slow, it remains the same. Your life does, however, flash before your eyes. But so fast, that instead of being able to enjoy it, it confuses you and makes your imminent demise even worse.

The bear was now only two feet away from the girl. Just as she had finally accepted her painful death, a loud heroic cry pierced the air.

"Uzumaki Style Taijutsu! Ultimate Bear Kick!"

Hinata gasped as she recognized the voice. Looking up, eyes filled with hope, she smiled as she saw a blue sandal connecting with the bears skull. To the heiress, Naruto might as well of been in shining white armor, wielding a gleaming longsword and kite shield. The bear roared in pain as it stumbled back, stopped dead in it's charge.

Looking over, she was about to yell his name when she stopped, seeing him hop around on one foot and holding the other; His face was in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow! _Stupid bear!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the ursine who was shaking it's head. "Why'd you have to go and have such a hard head?"

She stifled a laugh, despite the situation. Even at a time like this he made her laugh.

Hearing the chortle, he looked over and saw the Hyuuga princess sitting on the floor as though she was trying to escape something. Putting two and two together, he deducted the gist of what happened. "Ne, Hinata are you okay?" he asked, receiving a silent nod in reply. He smiled at her and put his foot down gingerly, that bastard's head was tougher than it looked!

The bear had finally regained it's senses and was now growling at the intruder. Seemingly glaring at the blonde, it started to strafe to the right of Naruto, never taking it's eyes of him.

"Hah, like that'll scare me idiot! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Forming the necessary seal, four additional Naruto's joined the scene. "Alright boys, time to kick some ass!" the real one shouted, pulling out a kunai.

"What? No way!"

Naruto's jaw dropped as he whipped around to the clone who dared defy an order. "What? Hinata's in danger! How can you say that?"

"'Cause it's a freakin' _bear!" _the clone shouted, being joined by the others.

Hard to argue with the clone's logic, but Naruto stopped himself from really thinking that, knowing the clones might catch wind of it. "No, no, no, unacceptable! Get in there, and bring me back a pair of bear shoes!"

"Idiot, you can't make shoes out of a bear."

"Maybe a nice coat." One pitched in.

"Dude, it's totally possible to make bear shoes." Another said.

"Oh really? Maybe moccasins, but not shoes." The first clone replied.

"Are you an idiot? That's the same damn thing!" the fourth shot back.

"Well, think of it this way, have you ever _not _seen a pair of bear shoes?" the clone in support of bear shoes asked. The other three remained silent until the first spoke up again.

"No, guess I can't say I have."

"See? Then it's totally possible."

"Are you kidding me? That's like saying just because I haven't seen . . ."

Naruto felt his face get hot as he grew embarrassed about his clone's bickering during this serious time. Seeing as how they weren't going to stop any time soon, he dismissed them by punching them all upside the head.

Hinata only looked on, blinking as she watched her hero's strange display. Although to her, it was actually rather funny. Even the bear seemed to stop for a moment.

"Alright! That plan didn't work out too well, stupid clones . . ." Naruto grumbled crossing, his arms. "Then I have no choice but to execute plan number two!" He took a deep breath and formed his hands in the seal of the rat.

Hinata looked on with baited breath as she waited for whatever he was going to pull off. She tried to think if she'd ever seen a jutsu starting with only rat, but couldn't recall one.

"Uzumaki Style Ninjutsu! . . ."

_Another created jutsu? Naruto-kun really is . . ._ she started to think before –

"Run Like You Stole Something!" with that, he quickly scooped Hinata up in her arms and ran screaming into the forest. If it was possible, the bear stared after the boy with a deadpanned expression, deciding it could find food somewhere else.

Letting out a high pitched 'eep!' she felt her face turn completely red as she began to fully realize just what position she was in. Naruto was carrying her bridal style, with her head leaning against his chest. Even with the erratic bumps of him jumping from tree limb to limb, the sensation of his heartbeat was not lost on her. She smiled, despite her growing embarrassment, his heart was strong. Just like it's owner. She knew that by the feeling of her senses cutting short and only focusing on one thing, she was about to faint. Even as she cursed it, she felt happy knowing her vision focused on the orange jacket worn by her crush. Her hearing acutely tuned into his heartbeat and breathing. The smell of ramen and his scent eased into her nose. She could feel his strong arms holding her tight to his chest, as blackness edged into her vision.

Then, she was out; but with a content smile still resting upon her delicate face.

Hinata groggily opened her eyes, trying to recall where she was. Bit's and pieces started illuminating themselves from the darkness of her mind. With a startle, she remembered she'd been attacked by a bear which Naruto had rescued her. Then, she'd passed out in his arms. Blushing a bit, she decided to look around to figure out where she was.

The first thing she saw above her was a small hanging lamp, the light currently off. The room was darkened, the windows to her left having the shades pulled down over it. She felt warm, and looking down saw she had a blanket pulled over her. It was then she noticed she was in a bed. Taking a deep breath through her nostrils, she realized she was in Naruto's bed by the smell of it. She couldn't believe where she was. She fought the urge to pass out again, she wanted to be awake for this moment. Turning her head to the right, she saw a small area that looked like a kitchen, with a refrigerator, oven, sink and a few counter spaces. A worn brown table stood a foot away from the appliances, a dirty white cloth draped over it. Looking over again, she saw a closet about ten feet from the foot of the bed, three pairs of orange jackets and pants hanging from hangers. There were a few other articles of clothing there, but it made the girl laugh to see it. A single door was slightly open to the right of the closet, giving her a glimpse of the small bathroom. To the left of the closet was a small vanity and, by her angle she guessed, a mirror.

_Naruto's apartment . . . I can't believe I'm here! _She was overwhelmed with the urge to faint at this moment, but for the first time fought it. She wouldn't just take this chance the bear gave her to be _this _close to Naruto. _I must not pass out, I must not pass out . . . _she repeated the mantra over and over in her head. Then, hearing keys turn in a lock to her right, she squeaked and shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Sunlight poured over her closed eyelids, making her twitch an eyelid, being used to the dark. Someone walked into the house and closed the door gently. "Oh man, Hinata's still out. . . I wonder if I should of taken her to the hospital instead?" Naruto whispered to himself, walking over to his table and putting down a plastic bag filled with various goods.

She had to stop herself from screaming 'no!'. Instead, she decided now would be a good time to awaken. Repeating her mantra in her head again, she slowly sat up right, rubbing her eyes. She couldn't mess this up.

"Hinata? You're awake! Alright, I was worried there for a moment." Naruto exclaimed.

She looked over at him, still trying to keep up the ruse, and smiled at him. She'd be amazed if she was able to pull this off. . . "N-N-Naruto-kun, where a-am I?" she stuttered, kicking herself for the nervous reaction.

"You're at my place Hinata-chan," he started, picking up the bag he brought with him.

Feeling a huge blow to her self-control, she even started stuttering mentally as she poked her fingers together. _D-D-Did h-he just call m-me Hinata-c-chan? _Her mind was racing about the possibilities that posed for the girl. Boys only called a girl that for two reasons, either he called her that because he thought of her like a sister or because he liked her. _Oh God, p-please let it be the l-l-latter! _

Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge, making her heart go crazy. Then, pulling out a small purple box he held it up to Hinata. "Ne, Hinata-chan, I got you a bunch of medicine! I don't really know why you fainted so I just went to the pharmacy and got a bunch of stuff." he said, a goofy smile on his face.

While thoroughly embarrassed at his misunderstanding of why she fainted, she couldn't believe how much medicine he had collected. "Naruto-kun, t-this couldn't o-of been c-cheap. Why d-did you b-buy all this?" she asked sheepishly, hoping he wouldn't be offended by the question. She wasn't worthy of this kind of affection.

Smiling at her like it was obvious he placed the bag in her lap, to let her sift through the contents. "Easy, I'd do anything for you Hinata-chan!"

Now, she could barely feel herself hanging onto consciousness, the boy's innocent reply being too much. All she could do was look down as her blush intensified so much, she was sure her face was glowing in the dark room.

At his prodding, she started looking through the medicine, which made her laugh seeing all the various types. He had bought everything from cold, flu, and upset stomach cures to allergy relief and all purpose medicine. For some reason, seeing how much he was trying to help her boosted her confidence again.

"N-Naruto-kun. . ." she whispered, not being able to speak any louder.

Looking up at the girl with a smile he tilted his head, "What's up?"

"Uhm. . . I-I . . ." she started, beginning to panic as she wasn't able to find the words she wanted to. "I-I . . . um . . . w-would you . . ." she tried again, but still her voice wouldn't find itself. Looking into his eyes, she almost expected to see her father's face glaring at her for being so weak. Instead, all she saw was a kind understanding gaze. Perhaps confused, but patient. "What I-I'm asking is, w-would you like to be f-f-friends?" finally, she had came out with it.

He just smiled and shifted onto the bed so he was completely facing her and sitting criss-cross. "Ne, Hinata-chan we're already friends aren't we?"

_Already. . . friends? You mean he? . . . Naruto-kun. _She couldn't find the words necessary to describe how she felt, but a gentle smile creeped onto her face. The day she'd been waiting for had come.

For the rest of the day, Hinata stayed at Naruto's home. She rarely spoke, as he regaled her with tales of grandeur from his high pranking days to all the D-rank missions he'd been doing with his team. She learned all about his two teammates Kazuma and Shin. Naruto aptly described Kazuma as 'cool guy, who barely talks. Not at all like duck-butt Sasuke. He's way cooler!' and Shin as 'A really polite guy who knows every horror movie _ever. _He's also really scary with that mace of his!' He had shuddered a bit at the last part. Sparring with Shin was like asking for a broken something or another.

As they talked about his teammates at his table, his sensei's plight struck Naruto like a bolt of lightning. "Ne, Hinata-chan, isn't Kurenai your sensei?" he asked.

Hinata, who was in the middle of eating a cup of ramen he had prepared for her, looked up with some noodles hanging from her mouth. _Why would he want to __know about Kurenai-sensei? _She asked herself, a small pang of jealousy being registered.

Seeing her shocked expression combined with the noodles hanging out of her mouth was too much for him. He held his gut as he began to laugh.

Looking confused, she wondered what he was laughing at when she noticed she had done a very un-ladylike thing. Quickly slurping the noodles, she chewed them quickly. Her face as red as a tomato she tried to just forget she'd done that. "Y-Yes, Kurenai is my sensei, w-why do you ask?"

Getting over his fit, Naruto wiped a tear from his eye before continuing. "My sensei Kenshin is head over heels for her. I need help trying to get them together, do you know what might do it?" he asked, but in the back of his mind a small voice was telling him that Hinata looked really cute like that earlier. Of course, him being Naruto, the voice wasn't able to make it to his perception as it was stopped by a brick wall.

Now understanding why he was asking, she looked thoughtful as she tried to think of something. "W-well. . . I don't r-really know what she likes or anything, so I c-can't help you there, b-but I could maybe try and talk to her about it." she replied, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her for not being much help.

His reply was on the far end of the spectrum as his face lit up with boyish enthusiasm and jumped up from his seat. "Alright! Hinata-chan your the greatest!"

She just smiled back, glad he wasn't angry. Then, glancing over at his clock, she realized because of the darkened room, she hadn't noticed what time of day it was. It read seven twelve. _Oh no! Father is going to be furious! _She thought, scared out of her mind.

Noticing the look on his female friend's face, he followed her gaze to the clock and the gears in his head turned. "Do you have to be home right now Hinata-chan? I didn't get you in trouble did I? Oh crap Hinata I'm so sorry!" he asked, his sentence growing louder and more frantic as he went on. The horrible look on her fear stricken face was making him feel uneasy as he had no idea what to do.

Despite his rather humorous antics, she wasn't able to laugh as she was terrified for her well-being now. Only once before had she disobeyed her father by being out past curfew. She'd been out late because she'd followed Naruto out on the other side of town. She was supposed to be home at five o'clock every night, but she'd lost track of time and hadn't come home till six. When she came home, he yelled at her for almost ten minutes, then struck her with his palm. Hard. It stung horribly, but even more so mentally, scarring the girl's innocent heart.

Now, dread captured her as she thought of what he'd do if she was late by two hours. "N-N-Naruto-kun, I'm s-sorry, b-b-but I have to g-go!" she yelled, feeling tears well in her eyes. She had to get home as fast as she could and hope her Father wouldn't be too upset. She was fooling herself.

"Hinata, are you . . ." he started, but it was no used as the girl fled from his apartment at full speed, tears now fully streaming down her face. As she bolted down the stairs that led to the street level, she tried her best to avoid anyone so they wouldn't see her cry. She wasn't just crying because of her impending punishment, but also that she had to leave the safety and warmth that Naruto's apartment had given her. Now, she was getting thrust back into the cold unforgiving Hyuuga compound. As she ran, the only thought comforting her was the warm embrace she'd been held in and the memory of their afternoon together. No matter what her Father would do to her tonight, it would be worth it.

Well, there you have it, another chapter down. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll try to keep the updates frequent, but I have work among other things so I don't always have a lot of free time. But I'll try to _at least _write a chapter a week.

And you must never break One's Own Rule! Now as an afterthought, I was actually really tempted to include on the flashback with Naruto and Kenshin a Lee and Guy moment where they would run at each other with waves crashing the back as they both shed manly tears. Meanwhile, Guy and Lee would be looking on with manly tears of their own, giving a thumbs up. But I decided not to, as it wouldn't of fit.

Also, If anyone is curious as to where the advertised story in the summary is don't worry, next chapter the gears of this story are really going to start turning. I just really wanted to use this chapter to get a bit more depth in with Naruto's new team and the start of his relationship with Hinata.

Finally, I'd like to give a big shout out to S'TarKan and his story Team 8. He is an awesome writer and an inspiration to me as a writer. It's one of the best Naruto & Hinata fic's I've read. So if you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do, you won't regret it.

'Till next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Kurenai Yuuhi was a ninja of the utmost caliber. Which is why she was able to be promoted to Jonin at her rather young age. Not only was she a master in genjutsu, but had a rather nice knack for telling when she had a tail. The blonde genin that had been following her all morning, was rather easy to sense. Finally being fed up with having a shadow, she threw a kunai without warning directly at the genin.

Surprised by the sneak attack, Naruto fell out of the tree he was hiding in with a yell. Groaning, feeling the pain from falling a good twelve feet, he slowly opened his eyes. From his current upside down point of view, it was strange to see the lovely and mature kunoichi walk towards him; not a bad view though, his mind thought for him.

_Is that the jinchuuriki? What is he doing following me? _The genjutsu master thought with confusion, nearing the boy. She knew who he was, mainly because of his reputation as the local prankster. It wasn't until she made Jonin that she was privy to his secret. She felt sorry for the boy, having a demon sealed in him without being able to say 'no'. Then, to have to face the villagers hate for something he never asked for. Regardless of this however, she was a little annoyed with him. "You do know stalking is a crime don't you?" she asked, not too unfamiliar with the act. She had quite a few admirers.

Naruto quickly rolled over and jumped to his feet, dusting off his bottom as he did so. "I wasn't stalking you! Kinda. . ." he muttered out the last bit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, then what was it you were _kinda _stalking me for?" she asked, her voice laced with more sarcasm and amusement than anything.

Finding his resolve he looked her in the eye. "I was following you because I want to know why you did such a horrible thing to Kenshin-sensei!" he yelled, pointing his accusing finger at her.

"It's not polite to point," she said quickly, slapping his hand away. His mention of his sensei's name however made it clear to her why he was here. "So Kenshin made one of his students come confront me?"

"No! I came here because I'm his friend." He replied, a look of anger in his eyes because of her baseless accusation.

She narrowed her eyes, being a master of genjutsu meant she was also a master of the mind. Looking him over, she saw no telltale signs of him lieing. Sighing, she placed her hands on her hips. "I did it because the idiot won't take no for an answer. He's the only guy I know who keeps trying to consistently ask me out. I've told him before I don't have time for a relationship." she answered him, revealing more to a stranger than she normally would. This kid struck a cord in her though, something that told her he was alright.

"So? What you did was still really mean to him! You weren't there to see how heartbroken and defeated he was! All because of you too!"

His words were like searing barbs against her cold, frozen heart as she winced towards the end. Lowering her eyes ever so slightly, she did feel sorry for what happened. At the time, she'd been just back from the Hyuuga household and saw how hard and overly extreme Hiashi Hyuuga was treating her student Hinata. She was in such a bad mood that when Kenshin came flying to her proclaiming his love to her, his goddess, that she snapped. In hindsight, she felt bad as she watched the poor fool prance off with a duck in tow. But, her pride wouldn't let her apologize.

"Would you believe me. . . If I said I was sorry for what I did?" she asked, still wondering what it was about this genin that allowed her to open up so much to him.

"No!" he blurted out, making Kurenai want to pummel him. But, before she could even look pissed, he continued, "I won't believe it until you say it to Kenshin-sensei!"

Her anger de-railed from his honest reply, she sighed again now scratching her head wondering what she should do. Looking at him, she saw the runt giving her a fierce stare that told her he wasn't going to take 'no' for answer. Also that if she did so, he would give her hell until she apologized to Kenshin. "Fine, fine. I'll apologize!" she gently yelled out, giving into his steady gaze.

His face finally broke from the unnatural anger and settled back into his normal happy look. "Great! Let's go find him!" he replied, already taking off. Shaking her head, she followed him hoping he knew where he was going.

Either by instinct or luck, the first spot Naruto tried was correct. Landing in a large oak tree that grew in the park by the lake. Across the lake, he saw Kenshin sitting on a park bench feeding a familiar duck. Even from here, Naruto could see the look on his face. Kenshin made no attempt to hide his broken heart and complete devastation as he slowly hand fed the duck.

Kurenai landed next to him, and saw what he saw. Her face only reflected a fraction of the guilt that plagued her. _I. . . did I do this to him? _She thought. He might have been unrelenting and sometimes a pain, but he didn't deserve this.

"See what I mean?" Naruto spoke, his voice low and sad.

She just nodded, then looked over at the genin. "Naruto. . ." she started, trying to figure out a good way to phrase her next words. "I'll go apologize to him." she finished, starting to put her hands into a seal.

Placing a hand on her arm, he gained her attention. "Wait, I also have a request."

Curious, she stopped the jutsu and looked at him.

"Please just go out with him once? Even if you don't like it, you'd be fulfilling his dream! He told me that. . . even though he was under a genjutsu, the date he had was the best he'd ever had, because he thought it was you."

The sincerity and tale of what he just told her seemed to put the final nail in the coffin that contained her resolve to not let any man get in her life. She decided that maybe, she could give him a chance. Not saying anything, she used the shushin jutsu and flickered over to Kenshin, leaving a leaf in her wake.

Naruto smiled, as he watched Kenshin immediately sit up and drop the piece of bread he'd been holding. Quickly, he rubbed away any tears he might of shed, as Kurenai sat down next to him. Deciding it was best to leave them alone, he jumped away from the tree and headed back into town.

As he headed towards Ichiraku to get some lunch, he noticed out of the corner he eye, a familiar hair color and cut. Having looked away from his intended course however, he failed to notice the incoming water tank that rested atop a building. As he thought that he should go and ask if she wanted to have lunch with him, he screamed in surprise as he found out how hard the water tank's surface was.

"Crap. . ." he muttered out as he fell off the offending object and plummeted towards the ground. Luckily, there was a fruit stand just below him which was so gracious enough to be broken to cushion his fall. ". . .Ow." he groaned as he removed himself from the debris and crushed food. Then, he slowly turned his head as he felt killer intent coming from behind him. A large man with an angry glare met his frightened one.

"You. . ._you . . .!" _was all the fruit vendor got out before Naruto just gave him a smile that said 'I'm sorry' and bolted as fast as he could towards where he last saw Hinata. Dodging fruit being used as projectiles, he rounded a corner ending both his bombardment of food and angry words. Panting, mostly from the adrenaline rush, he thought to himself, _Note to self, when I become Hokage get rid of all water tanks! _

After finding the street he saw Hinata in, he saw her about twenty feet away, standing in front of a shop window, looking at the products displayed within. "Oi! Hinata-chan!" he called out, running towards her.

Looking over, blushing because she instantly recognized the voice, she offered a small wave as Naruto neared her. "G-Good afternoon, Naruto-k-kun." As he neared, she couldn't help but glance back at the window she'd been using as a mirror. Wincing at the memory, she vividly recalled how viscously her father had struck her face. He didn't slap her like he normally did, this time he used a fist. She felt tears start to form, but quickly stopped her train of thought. She just hoped no one would notice the bruise under the makeup she'd applied. She didn't have much knowledge on how to apply it, but one of the branch members she'd befriended helped her.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, want to go to Ichiraku's with me?" he asked, already grabbing her hand to lead her.

Fighting the urge to faint from the combined efforts of him not only holding her hand but practically asking her out on a date, she tried to reply but it came out as a complete stutter. So instead, she just nodded her head.

"Alright! C'mon let's get going!" he shouted, pulling her along.

Before Naruto knew it, his life had almost done a complete one-eighty from his time in the Academy. Now, he had friends and two adults in his life. One who viewed him as a surrogate son and another who saw him like an annoying little brother. Now, he was rarely ever alone, he was either practicing with his team or hanging out with the Hyuuga princess. He had to admit, she was a little weird; what with fainting and always being embarrassed, but she was nice.

But in time, even he started feeling a little bored from his shinobi career. There was only so many house repairs, babysitting, cleaning, and other community service tasks that he could do before getting antsy to tackle something greater. A view shared by the rest of his team as well, including their sensei.

Summer was in full swing, seeming to try and have one last scorcher of a month before Fall inevitable came to cool things down. In the extreme heat, it made most, from shinobi to citizen, want to just stay indoors and lay comatose in front of an air conditioning unit. For one ninja, however, this heat wasn't enough to dissuade him from complaining.

"Dammit! I want a real mission already!" Naruto yelled, but soon felt a large fist slam into the back of his cranium.

"Sorry about that Hokage-sama, I've been trying to teach the boy some manners, but doesn't seem like it's working." Kenshin sighed, shaking his hand wondering who he hurt more.

The Sandaime gave the new jonin a look of pity, along with a chuckle, he had a hell of a task ahead of him. "That's quite alright Kenshin, I expect it from him." he replied as Naruto was currently yelling at his abusive sensei. After another knock on the head however, it seemed to quiet him down.

"Hokage-sama, if I may," Kazuma said, stepping forward, "He isn't alone in that sentiment. We believe to be ready for a more testing challenge."

Shin stepped forward as well bowing, "I too, want something harder. I don't think that D-rank missions will help us out anymore."

Iruka, who'd been sitting by quietly to the side of the Hokage, stood up with his arms crossed. "Look, I can understand the want for a C-rank mission, but very rarely do we hand those out to genin. Ninja start getting in actual risk of being killed in the line of duty."

The weight of his words seemed to do little to make them second guess themselves. "I can guarantee you we're in just as much risk on D-rank missions Iruka-sensei. You've never seen Naruto with a power tool." Kazuma chuckled, a rare display for the stoic youth.

"_Hey! _That was one time! One time!" Naruto replied, his face crimson remembering the incident with the nail gun that wouldn't shoot right.

Although he kept his look neutral the Hokage was laughing inside, imagining what the young demon carrier could of done. "Judging by the reports I've received from Kenshin, I would have to agree you might be ready for a C-rank." Sarutobi said.

"Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked, trying not offend the Hokage by defying him. "I understand that they are a rather skilled team but. . . still, a C-rank?"

The Hokage nodded and glanced at Iruka to let him know he took no offense at his words. "Indeed, we have a C-rank mission we just received yesterday that isn't dangerous beyond running into brigands. They are a heavy combat team after all, they could use the practice." As he spoke, the Sandaime rummaged through his desk, pulling out a yellow scroll embroidered with clouds. It read C-rank with a time stamp under it in kanji.

Unable to contain his joy, Naruto leaped into the air pumping his fist, "Alright! Finally some real action!"

With Iruka berating the young teen, the Hokage smiled as he unrolled the scroll. "It's a simple enough mission, all you have to do is escort our client back to his home in the Land of Waves." He explained, after giving the scroll another quick read through.

"Who's the client?" Kenshin asked, glad to finally get out of the village for a bit after being cooped up for as long as he had. Before Sarutobi could reply, all the ninjas in room heard someone stumbling down the hall.

"Ah man, what smells like booze?" Naruto asked, waving his hand in front of his nose. The smell, however, brought back uncomfortable memories of men and even women who used to berate him and throw things at him if he was ever out past dark.

He didn't have time to brood however as an old man appeared in the doorway, a half-full bottle of sake held in his hand. His cheeks were tinted red, a clear sign of his inebriation. His clothes were somewhat torn and stained with sweat, causing a slightly foul odor to permeate the room. He started to mumble something when the Hokage spoke up.

"Ah, Tazuna-san." The Hokage spoke, a little disgusted. "This is your client."

Having heard his introduction and seeing the team of three children, Tazuna looked over all three and scrunched his face. "Why am I getting some snot-nosed punks for an escort?"

"What?" Naruto yelled, about to charge the old man when Kenshin grabbed his collar holding him back.

"Tazuna-san, I can ensure you that my students are more than capable of escorting you home. They're all full-fledged ninja." Kenshin replied, trying to keep some pride out of his voice.

Tazuna just snorted, before taking another swig of the rice wine. "Whatever, just hope I don't die." He mumbled back before walking out of the door and sitting in a chair.

After collecting the necessary equipment and supplies needed for the journey, team thirteen collected their charge and left Konoha with a still piss drunk Tazuna in tow.

The trip to the Land of Waves would normally only be about a day or two for ninja jumping from tree to tree or running with chakra enhanced strength. But, because they had a civilian to escort, and an elderly man at that, they had to take breaks often and set up camp early. Because of this, the trip was doubled in length.

On the second day, somewhere around noon, Naruto let out a long sigh. It'd been even more boring than having to do D-rank missions so far. At the very least he was getting to see new sights.

Walking down a long stretch of road, he had his hands behind his head and was whistling to himself gently, trying to drown out the occasional complaint from Tazuna. They had passed through a small village three hours ago, and he didn't have enough money to buy anymore alcohol, much to the relief of everyone present. He tried to bum some money off Kenshin to get him a bottle, but he refused saying he wasn't gonna pay for his drunk habits. Ever since he'd been a pain in the ass for the team, griping about not having any sake and going through withdrawals.

Slowly, Kenshin was getting more irritated, each word frustrating the young Jonin more and more. Passing by an inconspicuous puddle of water, he didn't have much time to inspect it after hearing another complaint about how hot the Land of Fire was and how thirsty Tazuna was getting. Kenshin snapped around and yelled at him to shut up, finally not able to take anymore. All it took was that moment of distraction.

Naruto tried to say something, as he witnessed the puddle of water his sensei was standing next to suddenly transform and spawn two humans dressed in strange clothing with large metal gauntlets attached to their arms. The gauntlets each had large claws on the finger tips, and the two were attached by a chain of shuriken that fed from their gauntlets.

Luckily, Kenshin's senses kicked in and he was able to narrowly dodge the deadly swipe that was meant to sever his spinal cord in his neck. Instead, he received a light scratch on his cheek. Jumping back, he had little to time to waste. "Everyone! Protect Tazuna! Formation Delta!" he yelled, pulling out a kunai and deflecting a strike.

The three teens quickly mobilized, pulling out their own kunai and pressing their back against Tazuna in a triangle pattern looking out for more enemies. "Kick their asses sensei!" Naruto yelled out, a huge smile on his face. He was worried, sure, but he knew his sensei could win.

Dodging another swipe, Kenshin jumped back, and quickly started a jutsu. "Doton: Liquid Earth Jutsu!" as he announced the attack, the ground under the two twin ninja transformed into mud, but they were able to jump out of it in time, their shuriken chain aimed to wrap and kill Kenshin. However, he ducked under the attack and skidded on the mud, sending chakra to his feet to stabilize him and not let him sink.

Grabbing a hand full of shuriken, he tossed them at the ninja on the right, who jumped behind his teammate to avoid them. As soon as he had thrown the shuriken however, he charged forward. Thrusting his leg out, he kicked one of the ninja far enough away to yank the second back with him, not being able to let out any more shuriken chain in time to not get pulled. Putting his kunai in his mouth, he quickly started signing, forming his chakra. "Doton: Stone Prison Jutsu!" Announcing the jutsu, bedrock shot up from around the two crumpled shinobi and formed a stone prison with four walls and a ceiling, the square was just big enough that the two would only be able to stand with their arms partially spread out. Again, he started forming his chakra, his hands barely recognizable to an untrained eye. "Doton: Stone Prison Impalement and Burial Jutsu!" Thrusting his hand out, more for theatrical purposes than anything, twelve circular indents appeared on the walls and ceiling, forming inward cylindrical holes.

Muffled screams of of pure agony erupted from the prison for only a moment, before they were silenced. The prison soon then was absorbed back into the ground, the only evidence that there ever was any conflict a patch of disturbed dirt.

The three genin only watched with their jaws partially agape both in awe of the technique they'd seen and macabre curiosity of what happened inside the stone chamber.

Shin was the first to speak as he slightly stepped away from Tazuna, "Kenshin-sensei, who were those guys? Did you recognize them?"

Kenshin shook his head as he walked back to them, still on edge. "No, I haven't a clue. They looked like rogue nin's from the Land of Water, judging by their head bands. Strange that they would try something like attacking a group of ninja, unless they were after something." With that, he turned his head straight to a nervous looking Tazuna. "Is there something you haven't told us?"

Tazuna tried to blow it off as a random attack, but after a threat of being abandoned by them, he finally gave in and told them the whole story. About how his land was under the tyrannical rule of a cutthroat businessman Gato. His village didn't have enough funds to get a better ranking mission, and the money he had used to pay for the trip was a collective amount from everyone in his village.

"Please, I'm begging you! I'll be killed if you leave me by myself and my land will perish! All I'm asking is to protect me long enough to get the bridge completed!" Tazuna begged, dropping to his hands and knees, pressing his forehead into the ground.

Kenshin sighed, as he tried to decide what was the right thing to do. On one hand, he had his team to consider. If they left Tazuna, he might be okay, or he might die. If they went with him and this Gato somehow hired even stronger ninja, they would all be in a huge amount of risk.

"Sensei, I think we should see this through!" Naruto spoke, stepping forward. He could already feel the guilt of leaving an old man defenseless and leaving a country to die.

Shin and Kazuma both agreed, saying that it wouldn't be the right thing to do. "Besides," Shin started, "What are the chances of this Gato having any stronger ninja in his employ?"

Kenshin decided to ignore that thought, as he sighed, being ganged up on by his students wasn't very cool. "Listen you guys," he started, looking at his students with as serious a face as he could muster. "Being a ninja isn't always about doing the right thing, especially when that thing could be putting all your lives at risk. If they have more ninja than that, then we could all die for no reason."

"I'd rather die trying than go home knowing I left him to die." Naruto replied, clenching his fist, staring Kenshin in the eyes.

"Same here." Kazuma added, crossing his arms.

"My father always told me it's better to die for a good cause than of old age. I think risking my life for Tazuna-dono and his country would be worth it." Shin said nodding.

Before Kenshin could continue to try and sway them, his ears picked up a loud sound cutting through the air and increasing in volume at an alarming rate. "_Everyone get down!" _he screamed, ducking as low as he could get. His students followed suit, Kazuma tackling Tazuna to the ground.

Above them, a gigantic greatsword spun through the air, aimed to kill anyone who would have been standing up. The sword curved in mid-air and with a loud _thunk, _embedded itself into a nearby tree. Then, a large man with spiky black hair wearing a set of blue trousers and camouflaged arm wraps materialized on the handle, with his back turned to the group. The lower portion of his face was covered in bandages, excess pooling around his neck. It only seemed to enhance his cold eyes which surveyed the group like a hawk would pick out prey.

Kenshin felt himself pale as he recognized both the sword and face of the man perched above them. "The Demon of the Mist." he whispered to himself, cursing the fact he had to be right about there being tougher ninjas.

A shadow of a smile appeared under the bandaged face of the named ninja and he turned himself to fully face team thirteen. "Correct, I am Zabuza Momochi, and you are in the way of my prey." Zabuza spoke, his words laced with a promise of death should they stand in his way.

_Shit, not good. . . I don't know if I can take him on in a fight. . . _Kenshin thought nervously, gripping his kunai tighter. He knew who Zabuza was from his picture in the bingo book. An S-class criminal who was the ringleader of a failed coup against the Mizukage. If that didn't speak enough about his power, he was also one of the famed Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. A fact that chilled Kenshin to the bone.

Naruto was still crouched down, staring in fright at the new murderous face that appeared. Killer intent seemed to radiate naturally from the swordsman as he glared with an almost amused expression at them all. Looking around, he saw his teammates faces reflect what he himself was thinking. This guy was serious.

Casually studying each of the ninja there, Zabuza chuckled to himself seeing nothing but a no-name Jonin and three little genin who were probably fresh from the Academy. All not worth killing, in his opinion. "I'm going to give you Konoha ninja one chance, and that's it. I have no qualms killing all of you, even those three kids back there. So here's the offer I'm gonna give you. Leave the old man and run back to Konoha and don't look back. Do this, I'll let you all leave." Then, looking directly at the genin, his eyes turned almost sadistic with killer intent coming off him in droves. "Stay, and I'll kill you all."

Kenshin felt his mouth go dry as he knew he wouldn't be lieing. _Do I risk my team and try to defend Tazuna? Or do we run, and leave the old man to his death? _Looking back, he saw the pure look of utter fear on all his student's faces and their charges'. Taking a deep breath, he knew he couldn't ever bring himself to leave an old man to a merciless death by this killer. Standing up straight, he gripped his weapon as tight as he could. "All of you, this is an order." He started, not looking back. "Run as fast as you can carrying Tazuna back to the village. I'll hold him off."

"Wha – but sensei!" Naruto yelled out, not believing his ears.

"_I said that's an order!" _Kenshin replied back, still not taking his eyes off Zabuza who was chuckling to himself.

"Very brave of you," Zabuza started, forming hand seals, "but you aren't my target, he is. So I can't let you leave." Finishing his seals, he grinned as he spoke. "Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Before Kenshin had a chance to react, a dense fog creeped into the area and Zabuza was gone, missing along with his sword. Jumping back, he fell into a defensive stance, holding his kunai horizontally and chest level. "Box formation!" he shouted out, trying to keep the harshness out of his tone. Now his students were stuck here, he somehow doubted Zabuza would let them flee.

Kazuma and Shin shakily jumped to their feet and put themselves in formation, but Naruto only stayed seated on the ground with pure terror etched in his face.

He didn't know why he couldn't move, all Naruto knew was that for the first time in his life he was truly afraid for his life. He wanted his sensei to accept the missing ninja's offer, to leave Tazuna and save their own skins. Now, they were trapped in a fog that made it hard for him to breath and to think straight because of the amount of killer intent that was in the fog. His heart was beating so fast he was sure he was going to die of a heart attack.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing? Get in –" Kenshin started, but was suddenly interrupted. His mouth stopped moving and his vocal cords froze up along with his body. _Wha- what is this? Why the hell can't I move? _he thought to himself, as he frantically tried to move his body. _Did Zabuza put something in the fog too paralyze me? What. . . wait. . . oh crap! I was poisoned by the claws! _After receiving the scratch from the two now dead missing ninja, he thought he felt a distinct burning sensation from the cut, but attributed it to getting the injury. Now he knew he'd made a fatal error in judgment as he could no longer control his body.

Then, he heard the sound of metal cutting through the air, for only a brief second before he felt a blinding pain erupt from his chest as he was thrown back into Tazuna and Shin, knocking them both to the ground. Kenshin tried to scream out, but could only breath in pained gasps as he felt his precious life blood spill onto the ground.

Tazuna, seeing this, screamed as he jumped up and started to run back the way they came, screaming to not kill him.

"Tazuna, wait!" Kazuma yelled out, but only watched as he saw his figure disappear into the mist. Moments later, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the fog as blood sailed into the air colored the mist where he went. A loud _thump _was heard, followed by a smaller one.

Naruto watched, still gripped in fear and horror by everything that happed as he watched Tazuna's bloody and severed head roll back into the vicinity. His eyes, however were locked onto his sensei's, which darted between him and the other two, trying to communicate the order to try and run.

A low, eerie chuckle penetrated the fog causing the three remaining genin's to freeze up. "You should have accepted my offer. Unfortunately for you, I'm a man of my word and reputation. If I let you go, how will that look to future employers? Now who should I start with? Perhaps the blonde runt that's wetting his pants? Or the chubby boy with that excuse for a weapon?" Zabuza spoke, his voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Kazuma, hearing his taunts, looked over by Naruto and saw the faintest hint of a shadow. Jumping up, he ran towards the blonde youth while throwing a shuriken at the shadow. The shadow erupted into water, just as it was bringing down it's sword onto the unsuspecting jinchuuriki. Screaming, Naruto jumped to his feet and began looking around.

"W-We have to r-run! We have to go _now!_" Naruto exclaimed, not caring how he sounded at the moment.

Ignoring his teammates plea, Kazuma stood in front of Naruto with a kunai drawn, looking around for the next shadow.

"Show yourself coward!" Shin yelled drawing his mace, sweat running down his face. He too tried his best to look around, but it was all he could do to just not break out in a run from the psychological effect the mist had.

"Coward?" Shin heard behind him, but before he could turn around, he felt the strangest sensation pass through him. Then, without feeling any pain, his top half of his body slid off his lower half, as his legs stumbled for a moment then crumpled. Shin weakly grasped at mace before he felt another sharp pain pierce his back. Then, he knew no more.

Zabuza appeared clearly in the mist, his body and sword both covered in blood; His gigantic zweilhander protruding from Shin's back. His eyes were filled with bloodthirsty glee as he surveyed the last two standing genin. "There is a huge difference between cowardice and tactics. Something all ninja should know. Too bad you'll never get to apply that lesson. . ." Zabuza spoke, as he slowly disappeared into the mist again.

"S-Shin. . . no!" Naruto cried out as he started to run towards his friends body but was held back by Kazuma, who just shook his head grimly.

"Stop Naruto, we can't do anything for him now. If we don't work together now, we're both dead!" Kazuma yelled, starting to feel frustrated with his friend who was loosing his mind.

Before Naruto could reply however, he watched Kazuma's face light up in surprise as he quickly pushed himself and Naruto forward. But, he wasn't fast enough, and while he saved Naruto from the horizontal swing which would of decapitated them both, it instead bit into Kazuma's skull and sliced off the top half of his head, killing him instantly.

Naruto, who was about to say something in retaliation, stopped as he watched his last friend's body fall to the ground, his head horribly disfigured from the attack. _Kazuma! Shin! Kenshin! NO! _Was all he could scream in his head, as he didn't know what else to do, as he felt his bowls release and tears streaming down his face.

Then, again the haunting voice of Zabuza pierced the mist, but this time he showed himself in front of Naruto, his greatsword slung over his shoulder. "Your sensei is dead. Your teammates are dead. Your mission is a failure." With each word he spoke, he took a step closer towards Naruto.

Naruto tried to back pedal as fast as he could, but sitting the way he was, he couldn't move faster than the slow advancing missing ninja.

"Look at you, at least the other three died trying to fight. You're even worse than a kid playing ninja. You're just a straight coward." With a sneer and glare he swung his sword at a screaming Naruto but didn't aim for his body, rather his right arm. It cleanly cut through bone and sinew at the shoulder as Naruto could only watch as his dominant arm fall to the ground.

Pain flooded his every sense, as he screamed a blood curdling yell. Clutching the bloody shoulder where his arm once was, he continued to scream. Rolling on the ground, his thoughts a jumbled and erratic mess, he looked up at the Demon of the Mist with terror filled eyes.

Raising his sword, Zabuza looked down at the pathetic excuse for a ninja and shook his head. "You should of never even picked up a shuriken, _coward." _ Letting his sword fly, Naruto watched as it neared his shoulder. He felt the entire blade bite into his bone and continue into his chest before he felt himself black out.

But not before he swore he felt a surge of energy flood into his system, and an ominous, evil, and ancient voice creep into the last bit of his consciousness.

_-Not yet, not just yet. . .- _

And there we go, the next chapter. Sorry for the long update, but I've been really busy the past week. That and I had a bit of trouble making this part sound right, but I think I was finally able to nail it. As always, reviews are welcome and encouraged! Let's me know people are reading! ^-^ 'Till next time, Shinobi no Ryu.


	4. Chapter 4

I'd just like to start off by saying _wow. _I got over 1,000 views on my story in under twenty four hours. I haven't seen any of my stories do that well before! And thank you so much to everyone who reviews my chapters, especially recurring readers who take the time to review each one. That means a lot to me, so thank you.

Warning! Chapter includes lots of sad stuff. Gotta get it outta the way though.

Cold, dripping water was the first thing Naruto felt falling unto his scalp. With each drip, it seemed to awaken his consciousness a bit more each time. As he became more aware, so did a foul odor fill his nostrils. He couldn't tell what it was, for he had never smelt something so bad in his life, but it wasn't overpowering. Sound, was the next thing to return to him, as he could clearly make out loud breathing. Each hot breath seemed to wash over him in the worst way possible, making him more uncomfortable upon the cold stone ground he lay upon. Finally finding the strength to do so, he then opened his eyes. He wished he hadn't.

Before him, penetrating a great blackness held behind iron bars which seemed to be closed shut by a paper seal, was a gigantic, glaring red eye. Red bulging veins traced their way to the red iris, slitted to almost a sliver and directed straight at him. Before he had time to scream, another joined the other, just as intense as it's twin. Slowly, sharp, bloody yellow teeth became apparent behind a vulpine muzzle. The eerie glow of the maw seemed to lift more of the darkness and soon a gigantic fox appeared, tightly bound within it's tiny cell.

Every fiber of his being knew what this fox was, even if his mind refused to believe it. Before him lay the dreaded Kyuubi. The nightmare of Konohagakure, and the reason why he was hated, shunned, and the village pariah. He also knew that the fox was radiating pure malice and hatred, all aimed to devour the young boy. If it could reach him.

Swallowing the fear he felt, as he knew the beast couldn't reach him, he shakily stood. Doing his best to look the fox in it's eyes. "You. . .you're the Kyuubi, aren't you?" Naruto asked rhetorically, he just didn't know any other way to converse with this beast, if it even spoke.

The beast opened it's jaws, hot rancid breath spilling from it's mouth making the boy cringe from the smell. "_Yes. . . that is I, and you are the cowardly little human who imprisons me." _The Kyuubi replied, it's voice seemingly a mix between a human's and an animals.

Naruto did his best not to shiver, but he couldn't suppress the urge. The fox noticed this, and if a demonic vulpine could, it grinned with glee. "_You should be afraid of me. For no longer will you be my jailer, but soon become you will become my host." _

"W-What?" he exclaimed, "What do you mean _your host?" _

The Kyuubi's grin became larger as it laughed with pure satisfaction from being far more knowing of the seal that bound the two than his jailer. "_Simple, you blonde idiot. When that damned human sealed half of me away into you, he made the seal so that it would slowly allow my chakra to be absorbed into your body, and once you reached full maturity, we would become one and I would be no more." _As the Kyuubi spoke, it's tone seemed to grow angrier as it thought of being absorbed by some human. But, with another laugh, it seemed to calm itself. _"But it is of little consequence, for now you shall be the one absorbed into me. Slowly I will take over your body, your right arm is already mine. And each time you draw on my chakra, I shall grow stronger within you." _

Having a moment of complete understanding Naruto shook his head grimly, he had little idea of the fox, or what effect it would have on his body. After Mizuki had let the proverbial cat out of the bag, no one had explained to him the seal. He suspected because no one knew, not even the Third. "B-But, how? Why did the seal fail?" he screamed back at the fox, now feeling very upset at the idea of this stupid fox taking him over.

_"Because, you almost died. Thanks to that the seal was almost broken. But because I saved you before death it was still intact but, I was allowed free reign of your body for a few blissful moments. While I took care of those missing ninjas, I was able to tamper with the seal to allow it to work both ways. Too bad I wasn't able to just destroy it." _

Then, all at once, his memory seemed to bring him back to the events that transpired not even minutes before. He remembered everything, the pained look on his friends faces, as they all were killed. How he just watched, as they all died for nothing. How Kazuma looked at him, disappointed with him and how he sacrificed his life.

"My. . . my friends, they're all. . ." Naruto whispered to himself as he fell back to the ground on his knees, not caring the fox was watching, drinking in the human's sorrow. Tears welled in his eyes as the memories began to flash within the theater of his mind. Joy pain and sorrow all erupted at once within him as he cried now freely, trying to deny his only friends weren't dead.

The Kyuubi laughed as it relished in the anguish the human was emanating. _"Yes, I love this! After all the years of getting to watch you cry and scream from being abused by the people you saved from me, I now get to see it up close and enjoy it! Suffer human! Suffer as I have suffered in this damned cage for thirteen years!" _The fox screamed out, shaking the mind scape he resided in with not only his booming voice but whipping tails.

Still crying, Naruto jumped up and glared at the fox, hatred filling his heart as he charged the gate. "Shut up you stupid fucking fox!" he yelled, fist held high.

The Kyuubi just smirked as it released a wave of chakra that knocked Naruto back, sending him to the ground harshly and making him roll backwards.

Naruto felt himself continue to tumble, his mind growing fuzzy as the mind scape slowly went pure white. Then, he heard the fox's voice in his head again at a normal tone and volume.

_"Four years. That's all you have until I devour your soul. But, I'll tell you one thing, because I want to see you try only to fail so I can see the pathetic look on your stupid face. The seal will work both ways, in four years we will fight, and if you defeat me, I will be absorbed instead. But you will fail. Because I am Kyuubi. So train, __become as strong as you want, all it will do is make your body a better shell for me to fill." _

For the second time in what felt like an instant, Naruto could feel the cold ground around him, but this time he felt alive. Beaten, battered and his body felt like a huge bruise, but alive. A breeze wafted over him, bringing a smell of death and blood. He grimaced, as he felt a coppery taste in his mouth that seemed to coat the entire cavity. Not to mention he felt chunks of tasteless, rubbery tough meat in his mouth. Spitting out a chunk, he didn't dare think what it was. Slowly pushing himself up, he opened his eyes and gasped, as he lifted his head. No longer was he with the Kyuubi, but he almost wished he was.

Looking ahead of him, he saw Zabuza, dead in the road with a large gaping hole where his heart would have been and missing a leg. Now he could guess what was in his mouth, but he had no clue how it got there.

What had happened? All Naruto could remember was getting sliced in two by Zabuza's sword then blacking out. Then, he remembered the how the fox told him he had free reign of his body for a few moments. _Did. . . did the fox do this? _

Looking further ahead of Zabuza, he also saw a strange body, it was headless, but wore a green robe and had scattered senbon around the corpse. Naruto tried to stand, to turn away from the gruesome killings, but stopped as he not only felt a foreign presence attached to his right shoulder, but a weight holding it down.

Looking over, he realized it was an arm, but he knew it wasn't his. It didn't feel right, like it shouldn't be there. The arm itself was barely a darker, red clay color than the rest of him. It was also a strange contrast to the rest of his body as it was defined with strong muscles, not obscene, but not unnoticeable either.

_Is this what that bastard fox meant when it said it had control of my right arm? _Not even wanting to know how he regained his right arm, he then saw the reason for his new strange limb being weighted down. It was tightly grasping the gigantic sword Zabuza had once used to attack them with. Lifting it, he was almost amazed by how easily his right arm could wield it. Before he had anymore time to contemplate it, he heard a faint, weak voice carry through the bloody battlefield. It was very quiet, but Naruto swore it sounded like his name.

"N. . . Naruto!" he heard again, it sounded like someone was trying to yell a whisper. Whipping around, he almost felt like crying again as he saw his sensei, lying on his stomach where Zabuza's blow had left him. He was staring straight at his last student with an almost relieved look.

Dropping the greatsword, Naruto charged over to his dying sensei, dropping to the ground and skidding on his knees as he neared. "Kenshin-sensei!" he cried out, grabbing his teacher and very gently turning him over. Holding him in his lap, he grew deathly pale as he saw the wound that was still slowly leaking blood.

"Na. . .Naruto, good . . . you're okay." Kenshin spoke between pained breaths. He was having to use all his strength to just speak, both the wound and poison afflicting him gravely.

"Sensei. . .I'm so sorry about -" Naruto started before he was cut off by Kenshin shaking his head slowly.

"Don't. . . don't blame yourself. . . b-besides you were able to. . . avenge us in the end." Kenshin spoke, coughing at the end, blood coming out of his mouth. "I. . . I don't have much time. . . Naruto. T-take my . . . necklace." He instructed simply.

Knowing this wasn't the time to deny his sensei's claim of death or to tell him it was going to be okay, he solemnly nodded as he gently pulled the lion necklace over and off his sensei.

"I. . .It's yours now. . . that n-necklace has been . . . been passed down through my family . . . for generations. I-I don't have a . . . son to pass it to. W-Will you . . . take the burden . . . of continuing my family. . . tradition?" Kenshin weakly asked, feeling his own life to start slowly fading.

Naruto just nodded, crying to himself as he quickly slid the large necklace over his head, the lion resting just over his heart. "T-thank you. . . now you have the lion . . . to help you and give you . . . courage. His name is. . . Hatzumatchi. . ." Stopping by another violent coughing fit, Kenshin could feel his soul being tugged by death.

"You guys were one of the best things to ever happen to . . . me. You're like . . . a little brother to me Naruto. Before. . . I go, will you deliver a message?" he asked, using the last of his concentration to speak.

"Of course sensei." Naruto gently replied, not trusting himself to speak as he continued to cry.

"Tell. . . Tell Kurenai the words I never could, t-that I . . . love . . . her. . ."

Naruto gasped in fear as he watched the light fade from his sensei's eyes as he spoke. As he finished his message, his eyes finally closed and his head gently fell against Naruto's leg, his body no longer housing the soul.

"K. . .Kenshin?" Naruto asked, not using the honorific. Gently shaking his shoulder, he prayed with all his might his final friend might come back to life, but nothing happened. "No. . . _no . . . NOOO! KENSHIN-SENSEI!" _

His screams echoed throughout the still mist covered road, his mournful cries of pure sorrow causing any animals nearby to duck their heads and hide from the poor boy who's heart felt like it was being ripped apart over and over again.

For the rest of the day, Naruto began the solemn duty of gathering up each part of his team, and buried them in graves that he did his best to mark with stones. Even Zabuza and the headless human that lied next to him, he buried them as well, but didn't bother to mark the graves.

Finally, he walked over to the gigantic sword that had remained untouched since he dropped it. Grasping the three headbands of his team tightly in his hands, he put them in his back pack and then grabbed the zweilhander, holding it with the tip touching the ground. "I swear an oath on this sword and Hatzumatchi, never again will I run. Never again will I let anyone precious to me die. I'll die before I let anything happen to them." He swore, in a voice that didn't feel like his own. Hefting the sword up, he decided to use it himself. It was too big for him at the moment, but he'd work around that. His right arm could wield it easily enough, but his body strained under it's weight. The weight of it, would always remind him the price of his cowardice.

It was a rather quiet early morning for Konoha, it was Sunday, so most businesses wouldn't open until later in the day or not at all. The only people out were some of the more hardcore ninja who took their training very seriously, such as Might Guy and Rock Lee. According to a pair of Chunin standing guard along the wall, they were already on lap three hundred and four around Konoha.

Every thing was silent, not even birds seemed to be singing as they usually did. Two gate guards sat in their booth quietly, still waking up after replacing the night guard not five minutes before. They watched as the sun barely started to creep over the horizon, light spilling over the Hokage mountain.

"Think anything will happen today?" A shinobi with a rather large scar on his face asked.

"Besides a merchant misplacing his travel visa? Nah, I doubt it." the other replied with a sigh. Sometimes he hated signing up for guard duty.

Then, as they chatting quietly amongst themselves, they started to hear footsteps coming from the direction of outside the gate. To the acute hearing of the scarred chunin, it was only one person. Standing up he walked against the edge of the counter to see who was coming.

Soon, a figure clad in bloody orange tattered clothing entered into view, a gigantic sword, stained with blood and gore, slung over his shoulder. His shirt was hanging off his chest, showing a gigantic red scar that ran from his left shoulder blade to just above his heart. The bloody swordsman had his hair matted down with sweat, dirt, and blood that scarcely covered empty blue eyes.

"What the –?" the scarred chunin exclaimed taking a step back in surprise before leaping over the counter.

The other guard stood up too, shock filling his features as he recognized the genin slowly walking into the village without looking at either of them. "Naruto? Where the hell is the rest of your team?" he shouted, taking the more conventional route of running around the counter.

Both ninja stopped the young boy who almost didn't stop even with their gentle grabs. After hearing the name of the blonde ninja, the scarred chunin vaguely recognized the kid.

"Naruto, where's your team?" the other asked again, fearing the worst.

Naruto just shook his head in an almost zombie like state. He hadn't felt tired or even weary, all he could do was continue to walk. His mind wouldn't stop plaguing him with the images of his team's death.

"Shit. . . I'll take the kid to the hospital, stay here." The scarred chunin said, picking Naruto up and placing him on his back. As he did, he grunted feeling the additional weight of the sword and briefly wondered where he got it or even how he carried it.

Sarutobi normally was in a rather bad mood when he was awoken early by his personal ANBU guard. Normally, it was because of some trivial matter that his old teammates, who were now the head of the village council, decided was important. But this time, he knew it was serious. All the messenger could tell his guard was Naruto had returned to the village alone and bloody.

_Naruto, _The Hokage started to himself, as he appeared via a shushin in front of the hospital, _what happened to you now? _

After getting the appropriate information from the nurses, he was told the boy was being given an examination by a medical ninja. He was asked to wait outside his room until the medic was finished. Even being the Fire Shadow didn't allow any leeway in the hospital. So, there Sarutobi stood, taping his foot uncharacteristically inpatient wishing he could at least smoke his tobacco.

Just as he was about to barge in and strangle the medic, the door quietly opened and the ninja dressed in the uniform white body suit stepped out. He had a somber look on his face that told the Third volumes. Even so, he had to ask, "Is he okay?"

Looking up surprised to see the Hokage, the medical-nin quickly bowed before slowly rising and shaking his head. "Physically? Besides a . . . odd abnormality, fine."

"Abnormality?" The Hokage replied, fearing the worst yet keeping a stoic face.

"His right arm is different from the rest of his body. It's hard to explain, it's like it's not even his. The muscles are developed like he was a full grown man and the chakra network is also matured, yet the bone length is proportionate to his other arm. I've honestly never seen anything quite like it Hokage-sama."

"I see, may I see him then?"

"Of course, maybe he'll talk to you, all we've been able to get out of him was the occasional nod or vocalization." The medical ninja stepped to the side of the door, and Sarutobi walked past him, opening the door.

The room was darker than the outside hall, the lights being turned off, and the room's only illumination coming from the open window. It was a single room, containing only a small white bed and side table. Hiruzen also briefly noted the blood encrusted zweilhander leaning on the side of the bed. What caught his attention however, was the young ninja whom he watched grow up and forced to endure being a pariah.

Naruto was propped up against the head board, staring down at his lap, unmoving and almost seemingly not breathing. They had removed his torn jacket and had it somewhat neatly folded on the bed at the edge of it.

"Naruto. . ."

Hearing his name spoken by a familiar voice, Naruto slowly raised his head, looking at the Third though his blonde locks still stained with blood.

Sarutobi could feel his age start to catch up with him again as he stared into the lifeless blue orbs of the young genin. He had seen them before, from other ninja who had come back from a mission alone or who'd lost a teammate. This time, however, it hurt him far more than any other. For not only was Naruto the one person he never wanted to see like this, he knew that it was his fault.

"Old man." Naruto replied, relieved to see the Hokage. Tears began to well in his eyes, as he felt his defenses break down at seeing the man he considered a role model and grandfather.

Hiruzen stepped forward with his arms wide as Naruto clutched onto the Hokage, crying his eyes out into his robes as he had done so many years before as a child. All the Sandaime did was gently pat his back as he waited for Naruto to stop crying, for he knew Naruto's life was about to get even harder.

For a ninja to return alone from a mission was something highly controversial. Rumors of the survivor being a coward and leaving his comrades, or even a traitor. Most just accepted that the team fought another equally skilled team or a powerful ninja, and that it was just an unhappy circumstance. But, for a genin to return alone was even worse. Then, being labeled a coward or traitor was almost assured, as was a thorough examination by the ANBU interrogation squad. And though despite the Hokage's assurances, the jonin council, the village council, and the clan council all almost unanimously voted to put Naruto Uzumaki through the full interrogation tour. From mind probing to torture would be allowed, and encouraged.

Not being able to stop the motion weighed heavily on the old Hokage's heart, as he watched from behind a one way mirror Naruto's mind probe. He was covered from head to toe in seals that would prevent any mind blocks that had been built to surface.

Jonin Inoichi Yamanaka was conducting the probe, his face covered in sweat as he explored the memories of Naruto, having to be extremely careful of how he treaded. For there was another tenant inside his mind, one that could possibly kill him if he crossed paths with it.

After almost an hour of searching, Inoichi let out a gasp as he fell backwards, tears suddenly springing to his eyes. Quickly rubbing away the tears and trying his best to banish the lingering emotions he sometimes absorbed from his examinee's, he turned towards Ibiki Moreno.

"His story checks out sempai. The things he had to endure were. . . horrible." He spoke, shuddering at the last bit. It was always a little unsettling to the older man how easily the mind transfer could influence him. It was something that was hard to avoid, but happened sometimes nonetheless.

Ibiki nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced. "No offense Inoichi, but I'll be conducting my own _tests, _we don't know if the Kyuubi has erected any strong barriers to elude you from the truth. If he checks out after I get through, then I'll be okay to let him go." He replied. Then, motioning to the two ANBU who were acting as guards for the boy, he instructed them to pick Naruto up and follow him.

Still watching from behind the glass, the Hokage couldn't help but send out an apology to Naruto for what he was about to endure.

After an agonizing three days of torture and sleep deprecation, Ibiki finally gave his approval of Naruto as well. The things he'd done to the boy might of even broken the special jonin. What almost worried, even scared the sadist, was the fact Naruto had said a single word the entire interrogation process. He hadn't begged him to stop, he didn't scream and cry. At the end of the three days, when he released Naruto, he stopped him.

_"Tell me why you never asked me to stop." _He had asked, honestly curious.

_"Because I deserved it." _Was all the reply he got as the runt dressed in the new change of clothing that had been brought to him and took the greatsword that they confiscated.

As he watched the blonde genin silently and slowly walk away from the interrogation building towards the hokage tower, he shook his head. "The shrinks would have a field day with that kid." Sighing, he decided it would be best to get started on the lengthy paperwork that awaited him.

The Hokage rubbed his temples as he observed the 'new' Naruto that stood in front of him. After returning home to shower and get the grime of a weeks worth of battle and torture off him, Naruto reported to the Hokage for a final debriefing.

"So. . . you have four years until the Kyuubi _absorbs _you?" The Hokage repeated back what he just heard. It was bothering him how Naruto's personalty had done a complete one-eighty. It made him wonder if he should get the genin checked for post traumatic stress disorder.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Naruto replied, his voice no longer containing the joy and innocence it once had.

Sarutobi sighed as he only guessed the consequences of this. "In that case, I'm making this an S-class secret, _no one _but the people who already know can this be discussed with. Are we clear?" he asked, praying the interrogation squad had enough sense to keep their mouths shut until he could speak to them. Receiving a nod in reply, he leaned back in his chair as he took a long drag from his pipe. He'd already smoked more in the past four days than he usually does in a week. Then, he remembered the zweilhander that Naruto had yet to get a sheath or holder for, as it was leaning against the wall behind Naruto.

"About that sword, why do you have it?"

"It's to serve as a reminder to me." The blonde replied, glancing behind him to the giant sword. His eyes seemed to glaze over for a brief second as memories floated to the surface.

"Naruto, you shouldn't blame your –"

"Yes I should, it's _my _fault they died!" Naruto screamed back, showing more emotion than he had since the hospital visit.

Sarutobi was slightly taken aback by the outburst, not used to seeing the boy angry towards him. "You couldn't of taken on Zabuza by yourself. You know that." Then, he bore his eyes into Naruto's own, deciding that the boy needed a push in the right direction. "Do you really think your teammates would be happy, seeing you like this? Their death, their sacrifice deserves more from you than pouting and feeling sorry for yourself."

The blonde's head snapped up, anger in his eyes. "How the hell would you know?" He replied, not thinking.

The Hokage's eyes hardened as his stoic mask almost broke into one of annoyed anger. "Naruto," he started, his tone harsh. "In the _many _combined yearsI have been Hokage I have known death and sorrow beyond that which you can comprehend." His reply seemed to somber the boy, but the Fire Shadow wasn't done yet. "One thousand three hundred and twenty nine shinobi have died in the line of duty since I have been Hokage. Not to mention friends and family I have lost as the years pass. Each and every single one of them I sent to their deaths, in not only in the second shinobi world war, but in missions from as large as an assassination attempt to killing bandits. Every team that has come back missing a member, every report I receive of ninja killed in action weighs down on my soul."

Now the young genin seemed genuinely sorry and remorseful for what he said, but Sarutobi knew he had to make one final point. "I could be like you, and lose my will to live all together, blaming myself for their death, and dishonoring their very memory. Or, I can be strong, because I know they wouldn't want me to be anything else. It is not only my duty, but my honor to remember those who died for their village, and the tell others of their valor."

Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his chair, as he started to feel every wrinkle in his old, tired body. "Never forget Naruto. But don't let their deaths weigh down your life."

Silence reigned supreme in the Hokage's office as Naruto let all the things Sarutobi told him sink in. With a final, shaky breath, he nodded as he looked the old ninja in the eye. "I won't. . . Old man."

Hiruzen smiled, grateful to hear his nickname again. "Good. Now, I want you to take a two week break from active duty. Take that time to let yourself heal. You're dismissed."

Naruto bowed, before walking out of the room trying his best to keep his head held high. He had to return the possessions he collected from his teammates to their families now, and hope they wouldn't completely shun him.

Much to his complete surprise, neither Shin's or Kazuma's parents were angry with him. They had already received the news from the Hokage who delivered it personally. Shin's parents were civilians, they had been dreadfully afraid of this day, but didn't blame Naruto. Kazuma's parents were much the same, but seemed to take the news better. They had already prepared themselves for death, for either themselves or their son's, they just wished it hadn't been so soon. Both families had been immensely grateful to get back the headbands of their fallen sons.

Now Naruto only had one final stop.

Hearing a light knock at the door, Kurenai put down the romance novel she'd been reading and wondered with a smile if it was Kenshin. She'd been actually surprised at how much fun she had with the handsome Jonin. Even though he was a little over the top, he was very caring and romantic. It made her wish she had given him a chance before. But, now she knew they had time.

When she opened her door, however, she saw Naruto with an impressive sized sword slung to his back. It looked a little awkward on the genin, as about a foot of the blade and the handle stuck out over his shoulder, but he seemed to be hefting it around easily enough. "Naruto, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Kurenai asked, stepping aside to let the boy in.

Naruto only shook his head as he looked back up at her. "Kurenai-san, I have bad news."

Fear clutched the kunoichi's heart as she knew he would only have one reason to bring her bad news. _No, don't let it be. . . _

"Kenshin-sensei is. . . he's dead. He was killed in action by an enemy ninja." He whispered, kicking himself for being so weak. He had practiced the speech a hundred times as he traveled to her home, but still couldn't find the strength that the Hokage had.

The genjutsu master almost felt like falling to her knees. Instead, however she kept up a brave face as long as she could, not wanting to break down in front of a genin. "I-I see. . ."

"I was with him, at the end. He wanted me to deliver a message."

"Naruto you don't –" she started, fully aware of what he was about to say.

Ignoring her, he interrupted her, wanting to fulfill his sensei's last request. "He wants you to know, that he loves you."

Kurenai bit her lip as she clenched her eyes shut. She knew what he was going to say, but still wasn't prepared for it. Kenshin had declared his love for her before, but she could almost feel the emotion he had at the time when he had given the message.

Knowing she wanted to be left alone, Naruto bowed to the Jonin. "I'll be on my way now." With that, he turned and quickly ran off.

Shutting her door, Kurenai pressed her back against it, and let the sorrow she was hiding go. Sliding down the wooden door she cried into her hands at the loss of her first love.

Well, there's another chapter, sorry if this one is shorter than the rest, but I actually wrote this in one day. I know, am I good or what? Anyways, the next chapter will be a lot less emotional, and will focus on forwarding the plot. Maybe even some NaruHina fluff if I get motivating reviews. *hint hint hint shameless hint*

Till next time, Shinobi no Ryu


	5. Chapter 5

**Read this to avoid confusion later. **

(1) Later in the chapter, Naruto will be doing clothes shopping. I am not a creative person when it comes to clothing, nor do I wish to be with Naruto. Basically his "new" outfit in my story is going to be the one he wears in Shippuden, but instead of orange pants, I changed the color to black. Again I know it's uncreative of me, but why fix it if it ain't broke I say.

For Naruto, sleep always brought good things. It was an escape, from not only the harsh world that shunned him, but from reality in general. It also brought dreams. Of one day becoming the strongest Hokage. To finally get Sakura to be his girlfriend, and have the entire village respect him. Dreams, are meant to be happy.

But, not anymore. Now his dreams made nightmares seem pleasant.

Naruto awoke with a gasp, as he shot straight up in bed, a thick layer of cold sweat covering his body. His sheets clung to him like a second skin. Taking short rasp breaths, he tried his best to banish the lingering images of terror he witnessed. His nightmare was like a macabre mosaic, thousands of different horror's were brought to him, all instant, but seemingly taking an eternity to watch. The worst part was that he hadn't been able to wake up from it.

Finally gaining control of his senses and breathing, he barely noted his heart finally start to return to it's normal rhythm. Pulling the sticky sheets off him, he wondered with an annoyed grumble if the Kyuubi was in anyway responsible for the nightmare and his inability to wake up from it sooner.

The room was dark enough he couldn't tell what time his clock said it was on the opposite wall. But, he had a good guess it was probably early morning, maybe three or four AM. Knowing there would be no way he'd be able to go back to sleep after _that, _he decided to take a shower to wash the sweat off himself that was already feeling disgusting beyond words.

His eyes being adjusted to the dark, he had little problem navigating his way ten feet to his bathroom door. Flipping the switch, he grunted as the bright light on the ceiling felt like blades pressing into his eyes. To his left, he was greeted by the sight of himself, although it didn't seem that way. The Naruto he remembered was happy and cheerful, always smiling and laughing even if he didn't feel like doing so. Now, a stranger looked back at him.

His frown was long and deep, with eyes that seemed tired depressed. Deep creases lined his face, in both contempt and sorrow. His hair was no longer a controlled spiky mess, rather just a pitiful mess of blonde hair, making him look like he'd been in a fight or thrown through a tumbler.

He looked away from the reflection, not wanting to see himself in the mirror. It brought back the, thankfully, fading memories of the nightmare. As if his conscious was taunting him, it showed him the death's of his teammates over and over again. Each time, he noted it grew more gruesome, warping from fact to his dream trying to draw as much of a response as it could. At one point, he even saw himself playing Zabuza's role, but his eyes were blood red, and a strange bubbling incorporeal liquid looking substance covered him.

He knew what it was. Although he had never seen it, he knew what he looked like _transformed. _The Kyuubi's words ran through his mind again, taunting him with something worse than death for the young jinchuuriki. Complete possession that would result in him becoming a mass murdering demon vessel.

Teetering between despair and rage at his situation, a tiny spark flashed in the blackness of the maelstrom that was his heart. It was the Third Hokage's words which he had imparted upon the young shinobi the day before. He recalled the conversation in his mind, where the Hokage both thoroughly scolded and comforted him about his self-destructive behavior. And while it may not apply to his situation with the Kyuubi, Naruto could still find strength and reassurance from it.

Looking back into the mirror, another newcomer appeared in the reflection. His jaw was set with purpose, brows knitted together, framing cerulean eyes that conveyed the soul's conviction. He made a promise upon the sword once used to kill the people he called family.

"To never run again, to never let anyone precious to me die again." He spoke out loud to his new reflection. _I've always been dead serious about being Hokage, but how serious have I been about the road to get there? I don't think I ever have. _

He felt foolish now, thinking back to no more than a week ago. Even after he graduated from the academy, he never practiced taijutsu on his own or tried to learn new ninjutsu. Not to even mention his non-existent genjutsu. All he did was train with his team, then do stupid bullshit that only served to distract him. It was no wonder he was so weak.

_ "I could be like you, and lose my will to live all together, blaming myself for their death, and dishonoring their very memory. Or, I can be strong, because I know they wouldn't want me to be anything else. It is not only my duty, but my honor to remember those who died for their village, and the tell others of their valor." _

The Hokage's words rang in his mind, seeming to agree with him and encourage his new outlook on his life. "I have to be strong, because now I have the lives of three people on my shoulders. Three people who died for me."

Bringing his hand up to the mirror, he touched his reflection's hand and repeated the words of the Hokage. "I will never forget, but I will never despair. Not ever again."

Falling to one knee, Naruto breathed heavily, each inhale lighting his lungs on fire, as he let the greatsword fall from his grasp and hit the ground with a soft thud. His opponent was in no better shape, as it hunched over, using it's sword for support.

"Thanks for the workout," Naruto finally managed to wheeze out, "You can disappear now."

The shadow clone across from him simply nodded in understanding as it dispersed in a cloud of smoke, reforming into a small amount of chakra and memories as it joined again with it's master, not aware of the joining.

Looking up at the sky, Naruto guessed it was close to eight AM, judging by the position of the sun. He had never paid too close attention to survival training back at the academy, much to his displeasure. Just another mistake he'd made. He had left his apartment shortly after taking a shower, just around four AM. Running straight for Team Thirteen's training grounds, he decided to work on his kenjutsu since he was going to start using this zweilhander. That was easier said than done.

The first thing he had noticed was that even though his right arm could easily throw around the weight of the sword, his body still strained under the weight. So, he could make simple and awkward strikes if he stood still and only used his arm to move the sword. But, if he tried to move and swing horizontally, it felt not only uncomfortable because of the ease his sword arm moved, but he could throw himself off balance with the weight of the blade.

Which happened once; He tried to attack his clone with a side strike, but it had jumped back in time. As such, he blade continued to go, and his body followed, which allowed the clone to counter attack with an overhead strike to his shoulder, using the blunt end. It had hurt like hell and made his entire body want to give under the weight.

So he used the four hours of the early morning to just get used to simple maneuvers with the sword. He knew until his body was strong enough, he would have to rely on killing his enemy in one swing, especially if his opponent also had a weapon. He wouldn't be able to stand long in a duel.

Replacing the sword in it's simple leather sheathe, he readjusted the weight of it until he felt comfortable with it on his back. Just walking around with it on his back would be a workout on it's own. Now, it was time to enact step two of this morning's plan. While he was in the shower, he had given himself an honest look over on what he lacked. What he finally admitted to himself was almost sad to the genin.

His ninjutsu wasn't bad, if you counted the fact he had an S-rank forbidden jutsu. Besides that, he knew the henge and substitution along with his own shameless variation of the henge, Sexy Jutsu. Which would be completely pointless against someone who wasn't a total closet pervert. Even still, he was a little proud of it.

So his next stop would be the library where they kept D-rank to B-rank ninjutsu scrolls. Even then, he could only gain access to D-rank and 'safe' C-rank jutsu. Until he became a Chunin, he wouldn't gain full access to the library. A-rank and above were kept in a vault inside the Hokage tower, which was guarded by two ANBU. Naruto had to admit with a slight feeling of pride that it was because of his stealing of the forbidden scroll that caused them to install the new safety feature.

The idea had occurred to him that if he had enough chakra to make a thousand shadow clones, a simple D-rank or C-rank jutsu should be no problem. Starting to feel excited at learning a new jutsu, he decided to jog to the library.

He only jogged for about five minutes before he collapsed on a bench. _How the hell did Zabuza manage to run around with this thing? _

Hinata hummed to herself happily as she replaced a book about medicine back to the shelf. Searching the aisle, she tried to find the right book on a healing balm that disinfected and formed an artificial scab over small cuts. Today was Sunday, the day she got off from not only training but from any clan responsibilities. She had wanted to go visit Naruto, but he hadn't returned home yet from his mission. She felt a little worried, but knew that he was on an important escort mission.

She smiled to herself, as she finally found the book she had wanted. Taking the book along with the Encyclopedia of Known Herbs, she headed towards the front of the library to sit at a table and take notes off the books. She knew her father would disprove of her study of medicine so she couldn't loan them out. Her clan was supposed to be strong, ruthless, and never faltering. The heiress wanted nothing to do with it however, only wanting to help people, through fighting and healing.

Just as she was about to sit down, the silence of the library was was shattered by a loud crash of steel and books. Snapping her view over, startled by the loud sound, she made her trademark '_eep' _ as she saw Naruto standing, very still, by a knocked over cart of books. She couldn't see his face, but could clearly see the gigantic sword that was attached to him. It also seemed to be the culprit which knocked down the cart.

She laughed to herself as he muttered a sorry to anyone within hearing range and picked the cart back up before starting to replace the books. Placing her books down, she walked over with a slight hop in her step, glad to see him alive and well. She was also immensely curious towards the new weapon. She had to admit it looked cool on him. Bending over, she reached out to grab a book, only to bump hands with Naruto. Feeling her face flush with chagrin, she pulled her hand back quickly, and grasped it with her other hand against her chest. The warmth from his touch was fleeting, but it was wonderful.

He had been not only embarrassed, but annoyed at the extra appendage that now was with him. He didn't think about the angle which it jutted out at when he turned the corner, and the blade had caught the cart and pulled it down as he passed. Grumbling, he had squatted down and brought the cart back up and started filling it back up, trying not to acknowledge the inquiring eyes.

That was the last thing he needed, was the stares. He had noticed that on his way over that the villagers had been looking at him even more different than before. Civilians seemed to be unsettled, if not straight scared, of his weapon. That didn't bother him, maybe now they'd at least stop giving him glares now that he had something that could easily destroy them. He knew he shouldn't think like that, but he couldn't help it. The ninja, were the ones that surprised him. While some still had their hateful looks, now he also received looks of pity, and he knew why.

Before he could think any more about it however, he felt a gentle, warm hand meet his own for a brief second before pulling away. Looking over, his face raised into one of honest surprise as he easily recognized the shy kunoichi that was looking away with a shy smile on her face. He almost felt ashamed of himself, all this time he'd been thinking he had lost every precious person to him, when he still had a friend left. "Hinata-chan. . ." he whispered, more to himself than her.

Having gotten over her fainting spells, she still could feel herself overpowered by embarrassment at times, especially when he does things like whisper her name. It sent her teenage mind reeling to romance novels she had read before, and the indications of a man whispering a female's name to her. "Naruto-kun, how are you?" she asked, finding her voice as she reached out and picked up another book.

"Besides letting the whole library know I'm here? Fine." He replied, a sheepish smile on his face.

After picking up the mess, Naruto and Hinata returned to the table where she had placed her books before helping the clumsy boy. Standing awkwardly, Naruto looked around trying to think of something to say or do. To be honest, he felt ashamed of himself for forgetting about her, but at the same time if it was best if she stayed away from him. His nightmare flashed before him briefly, and he shuddered to think of him harming Hinata like that. A strange hurt filled his heart as he thought of her dead, lifeless corpse staring up at him through unseeing lavender eyes. It was unlike the feeling he had when he lost his team, but not too far from it.

"S-So, Naruto-kun, how did your mission go? I-I hope Kenshin-sama didn't pull too many pranks on you." Hinata asked, remembering with a laugh the time Kenshin had replaced Naruto's shampoo with pink hair dye.

Her question broke him from his reverie, but her question wasn't going to be one that was easily answered.

She was instantly alerted by the subtle change in his face. While she may be ashamed by it, she was an expert Naruto watcher, having stalked him for years. She knew whatever he was about to say would be a lie.

"He. . . he's fine!" he exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

She wasn't fooled, not in the least. The grin not only looked false, but seemed to be an ugly thing on his face. But, she decided that for whatever reason, he didn't seem to want to talk about it. So she wouldn't pry it from him.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, sorry to run like this, but I gotta go get some jutsu scrolls. Maybe we could hang out later?" he asked, trying to distance himself from her. He wasn't sure if he could hold up this facade much longer.

Not registering his attempt to get away, she just nodded and smiled. "Sure Naruto-kun, m-maybe lunch? Ichiraku's?" she asked, knowing he would love to go to his favorite spot.

Naruto shook his head, surprising the kunoichi. "Nah, not Ichiraku's, do you know another place? To be honest, I wanna start eating better, but I don't really know how. I heard if you eat a lot of meat it's good for your muscles though!" It was true, he wanted to eat better. He remembered Kenshin always telling him he'd be an oompa loompa for the rest of his life if he didn't start eating a balanced diet. Ninja had to stay in top shape to survive, and that included a good diet.

Feeling slightly shocked, she nodded her head to answer his question.

Satisfied by her nod, he offered a quick salute before backing up. "Alright, lunch it is, I'll meet you at the park by the clothing emporium at noon! See ya then!" he then turned on his heels and briskly walked towards the scroll section, letting his face drop from it's mask and into it's seemingly normal frown now.

Naruto cursed at himself as he leisurely strolled through the clothing store he was meeting Hinata in front of in an hour. He was annoyed with himself on two counts. One being that most store owners wouldn't sell him product, so he had to rely on charities to get the clothes he needed. He was annoyed by this, because it never occurred to him until now to use a henge to slip in as a bland looking male civilian, dressed in a dark blue kimono. His sword was also transformed, to look like a small necklace that hung around his neck with the lion.

Two, he was annoyed by the fact they didn't carry anything in orange. While he wasn't looking for anything like his old jumpsuit, he still wanted something with a hint of orange to it, he liked the color.

This was step three of the day, get new clothing to take on missions. Kenshin always scolded him for wearing something so vivid, but then again always said at least they wouldn't aim for him first.

The clothing store had three floors, all of which had boring music gently playing through overhead speakers. He'd been in here for the better part of an hour, and had completely searched the first two floors for clothes he liked only to come up short. Coming to the third floor via an elevator, he prayed he would find what he wanted.

The doors parted, and Naruto almost felt like jumping for joy as directly in front of the elevator doors was an outfit that resembled his old one, but was mostly black with orange on the chest. There was a pair of pants too, black in color.(1) There were three sets of the clothing left, which he greedily grabbed with a smile as he mentally counted in his head how much money he had left; Enough to spare.

The next week passed quickly for Naruto, spending almost all his time training as hard as he possibly could. From five AM to noon he practiced kenjutsu and taijutsu. He still wasn't used to the weight of the sword, and as such he started thinking of ways to incorporate fighting moves with sword slashes. It was rather effective. Instead of focusing on not throwing himself around, he would let the sword turn him, the sword would bite into the ground, and he would thrust out with his leg, then bring the greatsword over in a one handed swing and bring down on his clone.

His powerful right arm also proved useful in taijutsu as well. He couldn't practice any normal style, for he didn't have a teacher in it. So until he found a teacher to show him an actual style, he kept to his own taijutsu style, but tweaked it. Instead of flailing his arms and legs about, he kept his moves simple and brutal. No wasted punches or kicks.

Fighting his clone, he made a quick jab with left into it's solar plexus when it left it open. He found that if he put enough chakra into his clone, it would be able to stand one or two direct punches. The clone was stunned, just long enough for the real Naruto to follow up with a devastating right hook that turned the clone one-eighty. Then, without wasting any time, he stepped forward and wrapped his right arm around the lower portion of the clone's head. Then, with a quick jerk he made the clone disappear.

After that, he'd get lunch with Hinata if she was free. Much to his relief, she never asked about his team or the failed mission he participated in. If she had looked up what happened, she didn't bring it up either. While he knew he was running from the inevitable, he wanted to keep it from her as long as possible.

Then, he would try to learn new jutsu. The key word being try. The first jutsu he had started to learn was, Doton: Small Earth Wall Jutsu. The scroll explained that the jutsu would make a wall of earth shoot up from the ground roughly a foot from the user, normally being about four feet tall and three feet wide, depending on how much chakra was put into it.

"Usha, Uma, I!" Naruto yelled out, followed by slamming his right hand into the ground. He felt the chakra mold into his hands, as well as it leaving his body as it went into the earth, but still nothing happened. Growling in anger, Naruto formed the signs again and slammed his hand into the ground once more. Still, nothing happened. Starting to feel depressed at the ninjutsu turning out to be just like his bunshin, he fell to the ground with a grunt staring at the sky.

Minutes passed as he watched the slow, fluffy white clouds travel along the blue sky to destinations unknown to even them. Feeling calm, he sat back up and crossed his arms, trying to figure out what he did wrong. _Step one, form hand signs to mold chakra. At the same time, move chakra from your center to the area where the jutsu will come from. In my case, my hands. Step two, slam hand onto the ground and let the chakra go. . . wait. _Naruto thought, coming to a slight realization at the end.

Jumping back up, he took a deep breath and centered himself, concentrating on the normal flow of his chakra as it traveled through him. "Usha, Uma, I!" Slamming his hand on the ground once more, he felt the chakra move out of his hand and into the ground. Now however, he continued to push his chakra into the earth and concentrated as hard as he could for it to grab onto the earth and pull it up from below. Then, much to his joy, he heard the ground split open and a wall emerged, three feet tall and misshapen, but it came up. Ending the chakra flow, the earth wall lost form and crumbled into a pile at his feet.

"Alright! That's what I was doing wrong! I need a constant flow of chakra in order to form the wall!" he exclaimed to himself, pumping his fist into the air. Then, looking over at the scroll he gave it a little sneer, wishing it had mentioned that. _Now all I have to work on is chakra control, then I'm good! _With a newfound motivation to perfect the jutsu, he formed the seals again and brought another malformed wall up.

The two week break from active duty was up, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had thought long and hard about what it was he was to do with Naruto. This type of thing had only happened twice before, with a sole genin being the survivor of his team, and not having another team he could migrate to. If that happened, the genin in question either had to wait until the academy needed another body to form a team, or they could resign from being a shinobi.

He knew Naruto would never quit being a ninja, nor would he particularly enjoy sitting off-duty for another three months until the next graduation. But luckily, time seemed to be on the blonde genin's side.

A light rasp sounded at his door, followed by his assistant opening it with a bow. "Hokage-sama, Naruto is here."

"See him in." Sarutobi replied, watching his assistant disappear behind the corner.

After a moment, the blonde genin whom he'd been thinking about walked through the door and offered a slight bow. "Good morning Hokage-sama, what'd ya call me for?"

_I'll never get used to him being formal. . . _Sarutobi thought with a mental sigh. "As you should be aware Naruto, your two week break is over. Has it been sufficient enough?" he asked, more than willing to give the rookie ninja more time off if needed.

Naruto nodded his head in response, thinking with a mental smile about the things he'd accomplished in the two weeks. He now had a better grasp on how to use his new weapon, along with better control over his shadow clones, thanks to the constant sparring. His ninjutsu had improved as well. He almost had full control over the small earth wall, able to now make it as tall as himself and about three feet in length. He also started learning a low level Katon jutsu, it was a small scale version of the fireball technique. He knew he could pull off a higher level version, but all fire techniques were sealed away for chunin eyes only. They were considered too dangerous for genin to learn, for there was a chance that if preformed wrong, they could ignite their lungs on fire with the technique. He also noted that he gained a small amount of muscle in his body, much to the teen's delight.

"I'm fine, thank you Hokage-sama. I'm just eager to find out what's going to happen to me now." Naruto was no fool. He knew that without a team he would either be reassigned or benched.

"Well, I'm happy to tell you that you won't be benched – yet."

"Yet?" Naruto asked, not liking what that meant.

Sarutobi laughed, hearing the small quiver of doubt in the young man's voice. "It's nothing too serious, so don't look so nervous. In one months time, the Chunin exams will take place. In that time, you will either have to find a team that will take you. Mind you that they'd have to lose their third member for you. Or, if you can sufficiently prove to me that you can handle it, I'll let you join the exam by yourself. _However," _Sarutobi quickly said, interrupting any ideas Naruto might get, "that would be highly unethical and dangerous. You would have to be almost Chunin level yourself in order to impress me. So I suggest you focus on getting on a team."

Frowning at the last part, Naruto wondered if he would be able to find anyone willing to replace someone for him.

"I've already handed out the forms for willing participants to sign. I've instructed the jonin sensei's to contact you if one member of their team decides to not participate, but if the other two agree to it."

Naruto brightened up a bit at that, he might have a chance after all.

"You have one month Naruto, good luck."

Walking away from the Hokage Tower, Naruto had his hands stuffed in his pockets, keeping his head down and watched his feet as he walked. _Now what? If I want to enter the chunin exams I have to find a team. . . easier said than done. _He thought to himself, not noticing the three people standing in the road and leisurely talking amongst each other.

Naruto grunted as he felt himself run into another being, soft and easily knocked over.

"Ow! You asshole watch where you're going!"

Looking up in surprise, he recognized the voice, even if it felt like it was from a different time long ago. "Sakura-chan?" Then, realizing what he did, he rubbed the back of his head and bent over with his arm extended. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The pink haired kunoichi glared up at the novice swordsman with a glare. Slapping his hand away, she stood up by herself.

Feeling shocked at her refusal to help, he was about to say something to the girl he once had a crush on when he was interrupted by a brash voice. "Oi! Naruto-baka, where the hell do you get off knocking a girl over like that? Huh?"

Looking over towards the voice, he saw Kiba Inazuka a genin that wasn't much more skilled than him, and the emo-king Sasuke Uchiha. Both glaring at him.

"Didn't you hear me?" Naruto asked, his tone neutral, "I apologized and told her I wasn't looking where I was going."

That didn't serve to calm the rash hormone driven teenager down any. _Maybe if I beat Naruto up, Sakura will finally let me take her out! _"Yea right, you probably did that just so you could cop a feel while she fell!" Turning towards Sakura, he gave her a concerned look. "Did he do something like that?"

Sakura looked like she actually considered it as she tried to remember it. "I. . .don't remember." She answered honestly, although felt creeped out by the idea of it.

"Now listen –" Naruto started, before being cut off again.

"You really are a sick bastard Naruto-teme! Right now, you and me, our training field's not too far. I'll kick your ass in Sakura's honor!" Kiba shouted, Akamaru barking ontop his head. The little puppy didn't necessarily agree with his master's flawed logic, but felt like a good fight.

"Tch. . ." Naruto replied, his eye twitching for a second as he felt annoyed by the Inazuka's obvious attempt to rile him. "Whatever, I don't have time for you Kiba, get out of my way."

Growling, Kiba grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his collar and glared at him. "You ain't got a choice in the matter. Either fight me, or I'll just wail on you until you're black and blue."

Faster than the feral ninja could comprehend, Naruto's right hand flashed up and tightly clamped down on his. Holding back a grunt of pain, his eyes widened at the ease with which he removed his hand from his collar. "One more time dog breath. I don't have time for you." Throwing his hand to the side roughly, Kiba stumbled aside, more out of shock than anything else. _Is this the same Naruto Uzumaki? The dead last? _

Walking calmly past Kiba, Naruto rolled his head, feeling his neck pop. "Naruto." He heard from behind him, recognizing the voice that belonged to Sasuke. "Fight me."

Sighing, Naruto turned his head slightly towards the Uchiha, stopping. "Care to give me a good reason why?"

Sasuke smirked, as he walked closer to the blonde ninja. "Fight me, or I tell the Hyuuga girl what happened on your mission."

Naruto's eyes widened as he slowly turned towards the raven haired youth, murder in his eyes. "What was that?" he asked rhetorically, he'd heard him loud and clear.

Sasuke smirked, knowing he'd hit his button perfectly. "I overheard Kakashi talking about it with one of the other Jonin senseis. I also was in the library the day you lied to her about that mission, and the reason why your team's dead." He hoped he had read him right that day, and that the girl meant as much to him as he thought.

Naruto bristled as he felt anger rush into his heart like a tsunami. "Do you have a death wish bastard?" he asked, trying to keep his rage in check as he swore he felt the red chakra start to pour from his center.

Sasuke was just interested in how far Naruto had advanced since the academy, not to mention that he was curious about the new weapon Naruto had. But he knew he had no chance of losing to this third rate shinobi.

"If you don't want me to tell her, just meet me at team seven's training ground in one hour." Sasuke spoke, before turning away with a smile. Sakura just stuck her tongue out at the pissed off shinobi before chasing after the prodigy with compliments and declarations of love. Kiba glared at the boy before running off to follow his team.

Clenching his fist tightly, Naruto felt a low growl escape his throat before he screamed and punched the concrete wall next to him with his right fist. The crater he made did little to calm him however, as he glared daggers into the Uchiha's back. _You want a fight that badly? Fine. I'll make sure you regret it! _

Running off towards team seven's training ground, the image of Hinata looking at him with hate filled eyes towards him occupied his mind. This, was one battle that he couldn't afford to lose, not if he wanted to keep his only friend.

And another chapter down! Sorry to any Sasuke lover's but I rather dislike the boy. This won't be a Sasuke bashing fic or anything, but it will contain him being a bit of an asshole at times.

I am also aware that Sasuke's knowledge of both Naruto's team's death and his inability to tell Hinata is one of those convenient coincidences but I needed a good reason for him to fight Sasuke and this seemed like a good idea. I wish to portray Naruto as someone who won't fight at the drop of a hat anymore, and this seemed like a good avenue to display that.

And now this is totally off topic, but I hope that maybe someone could inform me as to why there are so many Naruto harems about? I swear I can't look for good fanfiction without bringing up at least five harem stories.

Now, this isn't something I think is bad, for I will _never _knock another author's creative mind. I'm just curious as to why they've seemed to grow in popularity. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and I can't wait to read the new reviews! ^-^ (Seriously, I check about every two hours. Pathetic isn't it?)

Shinobi no Ryu


	6. Chapter 6

**Note**: I went through and re-edited this chapter and reposted it, I made quite a few mistakes. Sorry if anyone got a story alert and thought this was a new chapter!

The wind blew calmly through the dense forest that surrounded Team Seven's training ground, the sound of leaves being gently strewn about filling the cathedral like silence of the area. The sun was hidden behind a rather large white cloud, shadowing the area briefly, before moving on it's way to reveal a blonde youth leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. He breathed in an even pattern trying to quell his bubbling red anger that waited underneath closed eyelids. With each long and deep breath, he tried to cool himself down, but the threat the Uchiha had posed to him was too great to ignore. Too great to think straight or to be calm. This fight, and the outcome meant the world to Naruto Uzumaki.

Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head to left, and watched as three youths all walked up the path chatting amongst each other. Naruto growled as he spotted the Uchiha wearing a grin of satisfaction seeing him. Pushing off the tree, he walked to the center of the field and squared off his shoulders with his fists balled tightly as he glared at his opponent.

"I'm glad to see you showed up. I thought you might chicken out." Sasuke said, honestly glad he was going to get a fight after all. "Seems like you want to keep lying to that girl about your team after all."

Naruto felt his anger start to boil over again, but he kept it in check, only responding with a twitch of his left eyebrow. "Do you think it's funny, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his voice shaky.

Sasuke took it as fear from the enraged teen. "Only thing I find funny is that you survived when the rest of your team died. I bet you ran like a coward." He replied with a smirk.

Reaching up, Naruto grasped his sword, causing the three other ninja to go for their own weapons. Not paying them any attention, he unclasped the leather buckle on his chest that held the sword sheath on his back with his left. Taking it off, he slammed the greatsword into the ground making it stay in an upright position.

"Think you can fight me without that? You're gonna need all you can get." Sasuke asked, his voice full of overconfidence.

"That sword is meant to kill, and I don't think the ANBU would like it if I sliced you in half, would they?" Naruto replied. He reached up and unzipped his jacket, pulled it off and draped it over the sword handle. Then, he took off the white undershirt he had on, hearing a shocked gasp from the girl across the field. Now his muscled, discolored arm and large scar was open to the world.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, trying to figure out what he was trying to play at with stripping off his clothing. He also took a mental note of the fact that Naruto's right arm seemed much stronger than the rest of his body.

"Do you see this scar, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, pointing at his mark with his right thumb. It hadn't lessened at all, unlike his other scars. It was still blatantly obvious that his heart had almost been cleaved in an attack. "You're right, y'know? I was a coward. Because of that, my team is dead and this is proof of it."

_How could he take a hit like that and not die? _Kiba thought to himself, staring at the ugly scar on the other boy's chest. Unless his knowledge of human anatomy was wrong, it should of killed him.

"You got a point to make other than to agree with what I said?" Sasuke asked, feeling annoyed at the delay.

"Yeah, I do." Naruto replied, raising his arms into a fighting stance. "You better make sure I'm either dead or completely out cold. Because I won't concede, not to a bastard like you who threaten and slander people for petty and vain reasons."

Waving his arm with a scoff, it seemed to signal to his teammates to step back, as Sasuke stepped forward and moved into the Uchiha fighting stance. "I don't think you're gonna have to worry about me slacking on that, idiot. Just don't come crying to me when your friend starts hating you for being such a coward." Sasuke taunted with a smirk, but almost lost his smirk when he saw Naruto's eyes flash red for a brief instant.

Naruto pushed off his planted foot, screaming a battle cry as he charged forward with his right arm pulled across his body, ready to deliver a chop to the boy's head. Bringing his arm up to block the obvious attack, Sasuke gasped as he watched Naruto's left leg come out and slam directly into his side, bending his body for a second before his right fist hit him squarely in the jaw and sent him to the ground.

Sasuke swore he felt a tooth almost get dislodged from the sledgehammer like blow of the punch, before he quickly rolled backwards and gained his bearings. He watched as Naruto was already on top of him, executing a roundhouse thrust kick right at his head. He was a little faster on the uptake however, as Sasuke intercepted the kick and grabbed the other boy's heel and threw him over his shoulder, slamming the blonde into the ground.

Naruto wasted no time, as he quickly recovered from the shock of his head hitting the ground, and thrashed out with his left leg and kicked Sasuke's wrist, making him lose his grip long enough for Naruto the wrench his foot free. Dropping his legs, he rolled back into a crouch.

Sasuke jumped forward, to land a right into the blonde's face, but was intercepted by a hard straight punch into his solar plexus by Naruto's herculean right arm. Sasuke felt his breath leave him violently in a single gush of air before he felt Naruto grasp his shirt and waist of his paints.

Having a firm grip onto the Uchiha's clothing, Naruto pulled the teen over his head and slammed his cranium into the ground behind him. The sickening crunch he expected to hear though, was replaced by the sound of wood splintering apart. Cursing, he whipped his head around, and saw Sasuke moving his hands rapidly, ending with a familiar hand sign.

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" as he named the technique, a massive fireball flew from his mouth and straight towards the blonde ninja.

His body moved before he think and preformed the necessary hand seals. Slamming his palm into the ground he shouted, "Doton: Small Earth Wall Jutsu!" With not a second to spare, the earth wall sprang up from the ground and blocked the impending fire ball, causing an explosion of fire and earth to erupt into a smokescreen of dust. As it settled, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

About fifty feet away, both Kiba and Sakura watched with open jaws at the raw display of taijutsu and ninjutsu the two youth's were displaying. Both were in disbelief that Naruto was actually holding his own against the prodigy.

Sasuke's thoughts were somewhat similar as he scanned the tree line, looking for any sign that an impending attack was coming. _I might of underestimated the idiot. This is turning out to be a bit funner than I thought it would be. _

Before he could mull over the new strength the dead last was showing, his keen shinobi ears picked up the sound of metal slicing through the air. Leaping into the air and to the right, he watched three kunai soar in a triangle pattern where he once was, hitting each other with a loud clang. Just as he landed, he watched three Naruto's erupt from the tree line, one in front and two behind. The one in front was about twenty feet further away than the other two, so he decided to focus on the the behind. _Clones, eh? Easy enough. _

The first clone jumped into the air, once he was about three feet from Sasuke, his right fist aiming for his skull. Raising his arm to block it, he watched with mild surprise as the second clone had slid under the jumping clone to try and kick at his ankle. Moving faster than the clones, he did a back flip to avoid both the attacks, but gasped as he watched the third clone's feet plant into his chest and send him back. He had miscalculated how fast the third Naruto could run, and was caught by a drop kick.

Naruto couldn't help but grin, as he felt the satisfaction of his feet hitting the Uchiha's stomach and seeing him hit the ground rolling. Watching him get back up quickly with an annoyed look, he glared at Naruto before switching his mood immediately.

"I guess I underestimated you, I apologize for that much. But now, it's over." Sasuke spoke, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Sharingan!" He announced with a yell. His once black eyes were now blood red with two tomoes circled around the small black irises.

"Tch. . ." Naruto hissed, trying to think if he had ever heard about what the Uchiha clan's legendary dojutsu actually did. Not finding the answer, he decided to test the water with his clones before anything else.

Sasuke charged forward, pulling out two kunai, to attack both clones each readying a right punch. Thanks to his new eyesight however, he was easily able to parry both punches, the follow with two jabs to their necks, dispersing them.

_The hell? How did he know those were clones? Or is he actually trying to kill me? No wait. . . it has to have something to do with his eyes. _Grabbing his own kunai, Naruto moved forward, and opened with a volley of three shuriken thrown from his left hand, before slicing towards the other teen.

He easily dodged the projectiles that seemed to move in slow motion. Then, seeing Naruto foolishly move in without breaking eye contact, he smirked to himself knowing that the blonde had no idea of the Sharingan's power. _Horizontal slice at my chest. _He thought, and laughed as he was easily able to block the attack with his own kunai.

Now, the two seemed to be locked in a close quarters kunai fight, but in reality Sasuke was directing the flow of battle with the hypnotic gaze of the Sharingan, making Naruto attack how he saw fit. Deciding to end the pathetic display, he sent another hypnotic suggestion to the blonde, causing him to make a stabbing lunge towards him. Sidestepping it, he brought his left fist down and slammed it into his opponent's neck, sending him into the ground.

Naruto was frustrated beyond belief, earlier they seemed to be on equal footing, exchanging blows regularly. Now, he couldn't land a single blow on his cocky opponent. Lunging at the Uchiha, he swore the attack should of hit, before he felt a sharp blunt pain in his neck followed by the painful embrace of the dirt below. The impact seemed to make all the small cuts he'd been getting from Sasuke's kunai explode in white hot pain. Wasting no time, he tried to push himself up and away before his head was forcefully shoved back into the ground by Sasuke's heel.

Sasuke laughed as he grinded his heel into the boy's scalp. "Pathetic, I knew someone like _you _would be no match for my Sharingan." Raising his foot up, he slammed it back down harshly hearing a muffled cry of pain from the blonde.

Across the field, the other two members of team seven watched on with some trepidation at their teammates cruelty. "Geez, I think he might be going a little overboard." Kiba said, wincing when he watched Naruto's face get slammed back into the ground for a second time.

Sakura just stood by quietly, part of her grimacing at the display, while the other more vocal part of her gave the boy a thumbs up. _Cha! That's my Sasuke-kun! Show him who's boss! _

Naruto felt stupid and embarrassed at the position he was in. He was at the mercy of this stupid bastard, and no matter how hard he tried to get back up, he couldn't seem to overpower the Uchiha. For a third time he was pushed back into the dirt, and then started to feel light headed as a rush of blood began to pour from his nose.

"Well, looks like you can't stop me from telling Hinata about your secret after all. See ya, loser." With that, he grinned as he brought his foot up as high as he could and then slammed his heel onto Naruto's head, intending it to knock him out.

Naruto however, didn't even register the pain as the last words Sasuke spoke to him was resounding in his head. Especially when he said Hinata's name, it sounded dirty and tainted rolling off Sasuke's tongue.

Sasuke pushed his foot off Naruto's head and started to turn around when he heard a low mumble from the blonde he couldn't make out. Growling, he went over to slam his face into the earth again when he was surprised by the speed Naruto moved. For only a brief moment, he caught sight of red eyes.

Shooting up from the ground, Naruto screamed out, "Don't you ever say her name again!" Grabbing the stunned boy by his face, he stood fully erect and held the Uchiha briefly at full arms length over his head, causing the other boy to dangle in the air.

Screaming out in pain, Sasuke felt the overpowering vice like grip of his hand start to crush his cheekbones, and felt razor sharp claws dig into his forehead and cheeks. He had never felt anything like it. _What is this power? _

With a loud roar Naruto brought Sasuke down with all his right arms might and hammered the teen's head into the ground, burying him an inch into the earth and crushed his nose causing blood to spew into his palm.

Loud cries of the avenger's name flew across the training field in horror seeing the brutal take down.

Naruto felt the red chakra begin to billow out from his core and flood into him faster as a low voice creeped into his consciousness and steadily grow louder with each repetition of one word: kill. _Kill Kill Kill KILL KILL KILL KILL __**KILL KILL KILL! **_He recognized the voice easily, as he imagined the Kyuubi screaming inside his mind, slamming against his cage, and his tails whipping around trying it's best to break free. Growling at the annoyance, he brought his hand back, and curled it into a fist ready to finish off the bastard. Just as he was about to bring down the final blow he was stopped by a firm grasp on his wrist. Whipping his head behind him as humanly possible, he saw a white haired jonin standing behind him with a serious look on his face.

"I think that's enough Naruto. You've won." The stranger spoke.

Growling at the older man, Naruto tried to yank his hand free, but to no avail as his captor was much more powerful. Sighing in defeat, he let his arm go limp, and felt the crimson chakra quell as his anger subsided.

Seeing that the boy wouldn't fight him anymore, he let go of his wrist and bent down to check on Sasuke.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Dual voices cried out as they ran towards the battlefield. Both wearing looks of fear and anger towards the blonde youth, who was slowly standing.

"Kakashi-san," Naruto spoke, now knowing the name of the man who stopped him, and why. "Make sure he holds his end of the bargain."

Raising his visible eyebrow, Kakashi's serious look faded away for a normal aloof one, he asked, "You knew?"

"Yes." Naruto responded turning around and walking towards his gear. _The truth is the fox told me. . . but they don't need to know that. _

Watching the blonde walk away, Kakashi sighed and slung Sasuke over his shoulder.

"Sensei! You can't let Naruto get away with beating Sasuke-kun that badly!" Sakura cried spitefully, hoping to get some measure of revenge for the raven haired youth.

Kiba only gave a short annoyed glance at his teammate, but ignored her and decided to not speak up.

"Oh? And what would I be letting him get away with?" Kakashi asked, feeling a slight twinge of annoyance from the fan girl attitude.

"He. . . He attacked Sasuke-kun for no reason!"

Hearing this, Naruto shot a glance over his head at the girl, growling. But before he could speak up to defend himself however, he watched Kakashi shake his head.

"Sakura, it's not good to lie like that. I was watching this fight the entire time, you happened to interrupt my mid-afternoon reading session." He replied, feigning annoyed anger at the end. "I also happened to hear, shamefully, what Sasuke used to provoke Naruto. I think he had a perfectly good reason to pummel him into the ground. Maybe it'll teach him some manners. Maybe."

Sakura just stood there, mouth agape as she found out just how stone cold busted in her lie she was. Then, she lowered her head in shame, with Kiba shuffling a few footsteps back, not wanting to be involved with her at the moment.

"I think you understand what you did wrong, now come on let's go." Kakashi replied to her physical response. Turning his head to Naruto, who was getting his sword strapped back on, he cleared his throat to gain his attention. "Don't worry about them Naruto. You're secret is safe. But you should tell her sometime, so that way she doesn't find out from someone else you've been lieing."

Instead of replying with the rising anger he felt towards his advice, he stayed calm and looked at him. "How do you tell someone that Kakashi-san? How do you tell someone you're a failure? That you failed the people closest to you?"

Kakashi sighed, and closed his visible eye, as he tried to formulate an appropriate response to that. Frowning, memories he tried his best to keep buried resurfaced within his mind. _Minato-sensei. . . why is it that the god's have seen fit to plague your son with with this type of tragedy? Why must he be forced to live what I've lived, but even worse? _Slowly opening his eye, revealing the hurt and pain of over a decade of regret and memories that consumed the legendary ninja's soul, he shook his head. "The only thing you can do is tell her Naruto, and believe in your friendship."  
The sincere words spoken from boy to man resounded in the minds of the other two shinobi, making them both regret ever taunting the blonde.

Looking up at the cyclops, Naruto felt that he had once been in the same place he himself had. "How do you live with it?" He asked, hoping the man would know what he spoke of.

"If you ever find that answer Naruto, tell me." With that, Kakashi offered a final wave and disappeared into the forest with his students close behind.

With a long, drawn out sigh, Hiruzen Sarutobi – known as the Third Hokage – stopped the chakra flow to his scrying orb which was handed down to him by the Nidaime. The orb had the ability to focus onto a chakra signal or a place, which was provided by the user's thoughts, then played it out much like a TV show to the viewer(s). Hiruzen had used the mystical artifact to keep a close eye on the Kyuubi container both out of duty and self-satisfaction. While he trusted his successor, and by a strange twist of fate, predecessor, he could take no risk. Also, he took pride in watching how Naruto grew up. He grew brave and kind, even though he was surrounded by hatred and apathy towards him he blocked it all out and held little, if no hatred of his own towards those who made him a pariah.

Thinking of the boy and his future with a troubled expression, he reached for his pipe. Before he lit it, he snapped his fingers in no general direction. Not even a moment later, the shadows gave birth to a lone ANBU with a hawk mask.

Kneeling to the left of the Hokage, the ANBU bowed his head. "What is your will, Hokage-sama?"

Taking a drag of his lit pipe for a moment, he blew out the smoky tobacco and flicked his wrist; a scroll dropping into his outstretched left hand. "I'm assigning you an A Rank mission. Deliver this to the Sannin Jiraya. He should be within the Land of Thunder at the moment."

The ANBU nodded and pocketed the scroll within his pouch on his back. "Is there a more specific area within the Land of Thunder in which I should search Hokage-sama?" Hawk asked.

Hiruzen smiled with a proud grin as he thought of his student. "I do believe he'll be aware of your mission before you step foot across the border, so he'll be waiting at the nearest village with hot springs." He knew that Jiraya's information network was vast and extremely effective. Which was why Jiraya stayed abroad instead of in the village. To gather intelligence for Konoha, and to continue his lucrative career. He chuckled to himself, as he felt the weight of a certain orange book in his robe.

At the Hokage's instruction, the ANBU replied with a quick, "It shall be done," before the shadow's once more swallowed the ninja.

Reaching into his robe, he pulled out the adult book and flipped to the chapter he left off on and read to himself with a grin, occasional giggle, and blush.

Walking though the park, Naruto grumbled to himself with his head down, as he kicked a rock he had picked out for being a strange color and odd shape, wondering how or if he should tell Hinata the secret he'd been hiding from her. Even the victory over the bastard Uchiha wasn't able to pull him from the funk. _She doesn't deserve to be lied to. But, at the same time how can I be so sure she'd just forgive me? _He solemnly lamented, as he tried his best not to leave it up to a coin toss. Then, his thoughts were interrupted by a cry of pain. Snapping his head up, he recognized the cry.

"Hinata?"

Hinata cringed, as she gingerly set her foot down, raised it, and set it down again the simple motion of walking. Her entire right leg was in pain. Under her dark pants, a gigantic, ugly bruise had formed around the appendage. She'd just been released from a 'spar' from her cousin Neji. Her father had arranged the mock duel, because of talk that the strongest branch family member had been surpassing every other Hyuuga of his age, even the main branch children.

Confident that even his complete failure of a daughter would have no trouble defeating the branch member, he had them 'spar'. It was more like a brutal melee that her cousin had taken some form of sick joy of beating her within an inch of actually seriously injuring her. She had lost in less than two minutes, and was shamed in front of the council of elders and her infuriated, chagrined, father. For the heiress of the Hyuuga to not even be able to defeat a lowly branch ninja was the worst shame she'd brought upon him yet. She'd recognized the look of utter anger the Hyuuga patriarch had given her. It was one that promised pain. Scared out of her mind, she ran from home, not allowing herself to be treated by the Hyuuga family medical-nin, and now aimlessly wandered the streets of Konoha. She knew she only made it worse, but maybe by some divine miracle, her _punishment _would be lessened by the space of time in which her father might cool down. _Why am I such a failure? I just wish I could get Father to acknowledge me. . ._

Then as if fate intervened, she saw the object of her love, the reason she still clung onto her pathetic life, walk into view. He looked downtrodden and deep in thought, but she hoped maybe she could make him smile. Opening her mouth to speak, she was stopped by his rapid moving foot that launched a large, hard, sharp object straight for her. With a horrified expression, she had only a brief second of hope before the reality of pain set in when it hit her dead center in her right shin. Not being able to contain it, Hinata cried out in pain as she fell to the ground and held her leg, tears threating to fall from the intense sensation of her already damaged nerves screaming for mercy.

"Hinata?" she heard Naruto scream out before he rushed up to her with a pure look of horror.

Seeing the rock near her leg, shock set in as he realized he'd been the cause of her pain. "H-Hold on Hinata-chan! I'll take you to the hospital!" he cried out, not thinking straight.

Stopping him by grasping onto his jacket she shook her head and sat up. "No, Naruto-kun. I don't need to visit the hospital, b-but thank you all the same." she replied timidly, still embarrassed when ever her crush showed that level of affection or concern. "B-But if y-you could c-c-carry me over to that p-park bench?" she stuttered out, wondering where she got the courage to ask such a shameless question.

The blonde boy wasted no time as he quickly scooped up the girl in his arms and gingerly laid her on the bench, using his lap to cushion her head.

The princess felt a shiver run up her spine, as she looked up to the concerned blue pools that studied her face as an art admirer would examine a legendary painting. The warmth of his body along with the knowledge that she was only inches away from an intimate part of his body, caused her to blush with pure joy. It might have been a bit deceiving on her part, but after the hellish morning she'd gone through, this was heaven on earth.

While Naruto was secretly happy that they were in such a position, he was more concerned over why see seemed to be in so much pain from a simple rock hitting her shin. Sure it would of hurt regardless, but it knocked her to the ground. Then, as he considered she might of just fallen from shock, he glanced down to her partially exposed collarbone, that wasn't covered up as much as it usually was, and saw a hint of purple blemish her skin.

Noticing his intense gaze at her chest, she blushed as only a pure maiden could, and covered herself by crossing her arms, not realizing his intentions weren't like that.

"Hinata-chan, where did you get that bruise?" he asked bluntly, concern winning out over any tactful conversation.

Realizing her secret might be compromised, she shook her head. "I-I bumped into a corner while I was turning in the hall, I hadn't been watching were I was going." She replied, hoping it fooled him.

He didn't buy the weak excuse however, and reached over, touching her arm.

Despite her best efforts, she hissed out with a slight cry as he hit dead center on a larger bruise she sported on her left arm.

"Hinata," he started, dropping the suffix, "Where did you get _these bruises?_" he asked, now realized she was covered in them.

"I. . .I. . ." she started, feeling like she wanted to cry. How could she admit to the boy she loved that she was a failure? "I lost in a spar against my cousin." she finally spoke. It was with so much sadness, so much hope given up, that she hadn't stuttered.

The teen could only look on in shock as he never saw a _spar _result in such bad bruises. Looking at her with a serious look, he again carefully picked her up bridal style. "I'm taking you to the hospital, you have to get looked at."

Opening her mouth to refute, she was stopped by a firm shake of his head, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Sighing, she nodded her head in agreement before he lept off the bench to gain a good foot hold to start jumping from tree to tree. While she now had to visit a place she wasn't exactly fond of, she now thought with an innocent and embarrassed smile that she should get hurt more often if it resulted in the blonde ferrying her to the hospital like this. His hold was tight, yet gentle and very warm.

Pacing outside her room, Naruto was yet again grumbling to himself, but this time in disbelief towards the brutal beating his friend had took. It enraged him, not that he'd let her see, but he had more than half a mind to charge into the Hyuuga compound with sharpened deadly steel raised high in the air. The only thing that stopped his murderous rampage and constant pressure of the Kyuubi's chakra that agreed with the idea of the slaughter was the fact that Hinata would probably dislike him butchering her family. _No matter how much they deserve it. . . _

Then, his thoughts stopped as he looked up to the sound of a door nob turning and the metal strut, which kept the door in place, retracting back inside the door. The female medical-nin which was assigned to them stepped out and looked towards Naruto. "You're the young man that brought Hyuuga-sama in correct?" The boy responded with a nod, "We were able to repair her skin, and she shouldn't be in anymore pain, but we've advised she stay for the rest of the afternoon to sleep and let her body take over on the rest of the healing. She took quite a beating, some of her organs were even bruised. I'm amazed she was out walking around, something very strong must have motivated her to not just collapse."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as a bad taste entered his mouth from the thought of the princess's plight. What did cause her to leave her home after taking such a beating? "Can I see her?" he asked.

The medical-nin nodded before stepping out of the way. "Go ahead, you can stay with her until she leaves if you like."

Smiling, he nodded and walked past the medical-nin. Stepping into the darkened room that smelled just like every other hospital room, he saw Hinata resting against the headboard of her hospital bed with a content smile, which he attributed to her being free of bruised skin. "Ne, Hinata-chan, how are you feeling now?"

Smiling, seeing her crush enter the room she replied, "Better, thank you for going through the trouble of bringing me here."

Scratching the back of his head, he smiled sheepishly, "It's no problem."

Then, the both of them quieted down as silence blanketed the room cutting the two shinobi apart and deserting them to their thoughts. One, thought of love and admiration, while the other thought of his hesitation.

Blowing out a sigh, he knew he had to tell her, and now would be the best time. "Hinata-chan. . ." he started, almost in a whisper, gaining the girl's attention. "There's something that I have to tell you. . .I've been . . . lying to you." he spoke, hesitation and doubt plaguing and warping his sentence he'd practiced in his head numerous times.

"Lying to me? Naruto-kun I -"

"Hinata-chan, let me finish. . . I've lied to you about my team."

The princess felt a sudden realization hit her, as the answer to why she hadn't seen him with his team in a while was starting to become clear. She was afraid of the truth.

"The truth is. . . they're all dead." He finally spoke, not being able to speak out the last part without a dry sob. He silently cursed himself, as he promised he wouldn't get like this again, but the image of his sensei smiling at him wouldn't leave him be. Nor would the annoyed look of Kazuma, moments before his death.

She couldn't hold the gasp back, as her hand shot to her mouth, as if to try and push the sound back in. It was a fruitless endeavor though, as the echoing sound reached her ears.

"And. . . and I did nothing to stop it. All I did as they were slaughtered was sit on the ground and piss myself, captured by my fear. Kenshin, Shin, and Kazuma all died for me – to protect me." He finished, looking away from the kunoichi. He couldn't stand to even think of the look her face must now harbor. A look that would be foreign and ugly on her porcelain white features. All he could wait for was the words he expected to hear.

Then, without warning, he gasped as two small arms encircled his torso, and a small weight pressed against him. His mind registered it, but couldn't put a word to the action. Looking down, he felt wet tears soak his jacket as he heard the Hyuuga heiress cry. "H-Hinata-chan, why are you. . .?" he trailed off, not being able to finish his sentence.

"H-Horrible. . . Naruto-kun. . ."

Instantly he was stricken by confusion. He expected her to be horrified with him, but she wasn't acting the way a horrified person would.

"It's h-horrid you had to go through s-such a thing. I'm sorry!" She continued with her tears increasing.

He felt himself physically begin to respond to the girl's comforting hug before he could mentally command it. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, and pressed his face into the top of her head as he cried out the last few tears he'd allow himself to shed. But these, were not for his teammate, rather for the only girl that showed him such kindness and more importantly: acceptance.

And that ends Chapter Six! And Naruto still hasn't found a team, but he may of found something much more precious than that.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and answered my question about the harem fic's. I would also like to stress that I will not be trying to excessively bash any character in this fic, (figuratively speaking, Sasuke will probably get his face smashed in more than once =P) but you see I have a deep rooted hatred of _Kishimoto's portrayal _of Sasuke. You see, I had no problem with Sasuke in the beginning of the series. Sure, he could be a dick, but what rival isn't? Now however,

(SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER FOR ANY ONE WHO HASN'T READ THE MANGA OR FOLLOWED THE ANIME SERIES)

he seems way-y to powerful for no other reason than 'he just is.' What with the new Sharingan and being able to mortally wound the Raikage and take on Danzo singlehandedly who has some crazy Sharingan eye arm thing. ALL IN THE SAME DAY.

Forgive me for the rant, but I really dislike how his character is getting dragged through the mud. I think the canon's portrayal of him should be done differently, but then again I'm not the creator.

SPOLIER OVER

So, while I will try my best to not overly bash Sasuke, I might make him a pretty big asshole which I *might* have him be redeemed later and turn him into an _actual __person worthy of the hero's undying loyalty_, but that's still in the air.

I have a long work week this week, so I may not be able to update again 'till next week. By the way, if I'm laying on the depressing stuff too much, sorry but I tend to write to not only express myself but to vent. I try to do it tastefully but sometimes it gets the better of me, so I just ask you bear with me or flame me so bad I stop.

See ya, everybody! 'Till next time!

Shinobi no Ryu


	7. Chapter 7

Before I begin, I would like to thank all those who have consistently taken the time to read and review my stories, as well as those who don't review. It always gives me encouragement and a reason to keep on writing when I see them. So thank you Rhomulus, Hektols, MKTerra, Uzumaki-Ricky, Hee-Ho Master, Leaf Ranger, KonIsMyName, Wyrtha, and everyone else. If I missed your name, please don't be upset, I didn't mean to. Again, thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy Chapter 7!

Letting loose a shaky breath, Naruto collapsed to the ground, his back momentarily complaining as it hit a rather large rock. But, Naruto didn't care as he breathed shallow, painful breaths of air into his damaged lungs. For the past two hours he'd been practicing the Katon Jutsu he "stole" from Sasuke to the point of near chakra depletion. He knew it was risky, maybe even borderline stupid to attempt a jutsu he had no instruction on, but he had to get stronger and learn stronger jutsu. Kage Bunshin's do not make an arsenal, just a one trick pony. He smiled, as he thought back to three days ago when he followed the Uchiha home.

_ Creeping along the rooftop of a private residence, Naruto watched from behind an air conditioning unit the youngest member of the Uchiha clan walk home with a brown paper bag of groceries, bought from the public market. So far, he hadn't been spotted. Doing his best to not exert any chakra, Naruto had stuck to only physical methods of stealth and tracking, knowing that Sasuke wasn't an ordinary genin. _

_ Through residential and commerce areas of the village Naruto stalked the other boy. Waiting and watching, hoping he would practice his ninjutsu when he got back home. Finally, after almost half an hour of treading upon shadows and rooftops, his quarry finally passed through gigantic wooden gates painted with the Uchiha clan symbol painted brightly upon it. _

_ Jumping down from the nearby building, Naruto scaled the twelve foot wall that separated the compound from the village proper and peered over the edge, the hunted teen still unaware. Naruto felt a strange uneasiness fill him as he crossed the wall. The buildings and ground may have been cleaned of blood, and the damage repaired, but the spiritual energy from the massacre still hung like an invisible miasma within the Uchiha compound. Unseen darkness, clouds of despair and death seemed to roam the shadows and alleys of the buildings and homes within. _

_ Naruto did his best to not freak out as he continued his hunt. He would never admit it, but he had a fear of ghosts and other paranormal things. The last thing he needed was to encounter a ghost. "Damn things are just dirty, can't cut 'em, can't make 'em bleed, certainly can't kill 'em." Naruto had thought to himself as he not only followed the Uchiha but the shadows that danced eerily throughout, seemingly without provocation or by natural means. Last thing he needed was to fight a ghost. _

_ He shook off the fear he felt, as he had to quickly rebound behind a corner. __Sasuke had turned left into a larger building unexpectedly and could of caught the __blonde shinobi in his peripheral vision. After giving it a moment, Naruto ran across the street and scaled another building by jumping from wall to wall against the adjacent building and back to his intended target. Making a final leap, he landed on the roof and hid behind a convenient water tank that sat upon the roof. Moments later, the Uchiha exited the building with a jug of water and headed towards a small lake that rested in a garden next to the house he had entered. _

_ Seeing as he had a good view of the pond, Naruto pulled out a pair of binoculars, making sure the sun was to his back before he began his observations. Last thing he needed was the glare from the sun to reflect off the lenses and alert his quarry. _

_ Soon, the Uchiha began his ninjutsu training, forming the necessary hand seals in a slow pattern, before exhaling a perfectly maintained fireball that spread over the lake. Naruto payed close attention to the signs he made, and wrote them down as Sasuke preformed them. Three times he used the jutsu and three times he wrote down the seals, getting them perfect each time. After making an additional note on how Sasuke breathed, before and after the attack, along with how he seemed to control the flames with his forefinger and thumb, he left with a silent thanks to the Uchiha for the new jutsu. _

Reaching back to his pack, he pulled out a soldier pill and ate it, already feeling his chakra pathways stop constricting within his body and letting the surge of his own chakra push into his body; created by the abundance of vitamins and nutrients the Akamichi invention contained. Naruto frowned, as he could feel the Kyuubi try and take advantage of his chakra weakened state and flood him with more of his own evil chakra, but quickly quelled it with the help of the seal that still partially functioned.

He wished that the pill also helped his singed lungs, but knew that they'd be better soon, thanks to his rapid healing. Unfortunately, he was still working out the kinks for the Katon, and had almost ignited himself internally more than once. But, he had so far produced a few good fireballs.

It had been two weeks since the Hokage's ultimatum and Naruto was still no where near close to finding a team. He'd been scouting for one, but so far none had taken him. He found out that in order for a genin team to participate in the Chunnin exams, first the jonin sensei had to approve them, telling the Hokage that they believed them to be ready. Then, after that they would hand applications to the teammates and they would have to sign it if they believed themselves ready. Only if all three signed could they then participate, that was what Naruto kept an eye out for. While all the jonin sensei's knew of his availability and eagerness, so far only three teams had actually not turned in their paperwork. Teams Seven, Eight, and Ten all had one genin that hadn't turned in their paperwork.

In Team Seven, Sakura had yet to turn in hers. He hadn't asked her yet, but decided against trying as he still held a grudge against the girl he used to think he had a crush on. In Team Eight, Naruto was rather hopeful he'd get to join. The hesitant member was one of the genin he knew very little about, Jin Kisaragi. He'd met him once, just after picking Hinata up from her training to escort her to a restaurant they were going to have lunch at. The boy was silent, but seemed rather average in both power and looks. But, he judged by the silent glare Jin gave him, he had feelings for the girl. For some reason, he had gotten overprotective of the girl and quickly ushered her away from the strange boy.

From what Hinata had told him, Jin was afraid of them getting hurt or worse in the Chunin exams, not believing any of them to be ready for it. He was ready to not participate in order to flunk them all. Naruto had brought it up with their sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi, but she sadly admitted that unless Jin resigned from being a shinobi or allowed another to take his place, he was allowed to do such a thing, no matter how selfish it was. She had also informed him to not try anything _drastic, _such as literally disarming the boy. ANBU didn't take kindly to genin maiming genin.

And with Team Ten, Shikamaru had yet to turn in the papers simply because he was lazy. He knew his sensei or female teammate would kick his ass into gear sooner or later.

_So that really only leaves me with Team Eight as my choice to try and get into the Chunin exams, because I'm no where near the level of strength the Old Man wants from me. _Naruto thought as he painfully sat up. His body may have been out of danger from low chakra, but the withdrawal pains he felt physically was still there.

Hearing the loud cry of a raven as it flew over head, Naruto watched the silhouette of the bird glide across the orange sky that hung over the clearing in the forest as the sun began to set faster behind the horizon. Knowing it was almost time to head back home, he stood back up with a groan as he limped back home, wanting nothing more than to collapse in his bed.

The next morning, Naruto awoke with a groan of pain, not only from his sore muscles, but a large headache that seemed to pound louder with every passing second. Mumbling to himself at the annoyance, he threw his blanket off and stumbled to the bathroom.

After getting a proper breakfast of ramen and milk, Naruto couldn't help but feel as though he was being constantly watched. Being in a shinobi village, one would expect to have the watchful eyes of shadows upon you, but you could rarely tell they were there. This feeling was invasive, almost chilling, as it seemed omnipresent and he couldn't get away from it. With a final sigh, he shook his head and chalked it up to paranoia on his part.

Today was a special day for Konoha, it was the celebration of Konoha's founding many years ago. Naruto couldn't believe he'd forgotten what day it was, he'd been training himself so hard into the ground that he lost track of dates, besides the one month deadline. It was one of his favorite festivals, seemingly also the day that people ignored his presence and instead focused on having their own fun. Another bonus, as it allowed him free access to the stalls and plays through the village.

Streets were jam packed full of shinobi and civilian alike, all dancing and chatting away merrily as the stresses of daily life seemed to melt away. Along the main road that led from the main gate directly to the Hokage Tower, wooden stalls had been erected. The stalls ranged from selling food that was only available during the festival, shops that sold merchandise on discount, and many stalls had games such as ring tossing, fish catching, and even one had a shuriken throwing game. Although, any shinobi that tried the game was required to wear a blindfold, lest the stall owner go broke and lose all his prizes.

Naruto couldn't help but smile as he raced to a stall that sold a special flavor of dango for the day. While he believed ramen to be the superior food, he too has a sweet tooth. His joy was short lived however, as the stall owner had a closed sign, stating that there wouldn't be anymore special dango until that night, a woman wearing some very revealing clothing had come by and bought his entire stock. Disappointed he'd have to wait until nightfall to get some, he just sighed and ran towards his next stop, it was almost ten AM, meaning that the first play of the day would be starting soon at the stadium.

However, before he could make it to the stadium, he heard a small scream cut off abruptly, that seemed rather familiar to him. _Hinata? _He thought to himself, wondering with a small twinge of fear what could of caused her to scream like that. Turning a corner where he heard the sound come from, he looked down the darkened alleyway and felt his anger spike as he saw a cloaked figure picking up an unmoving Hinata. Whether she was dead or unconscious, he couldn't tell. The cloaked figure noticed the boy immediately and didn't spare him a second thought as he slung the girl over his shoulder and jumped straight up to the rooftop.

"Bastard! Get back here with Hinata!" Naruto all but roared as he quickly bounded up the alleyway with quick hops from wall to wall. Reaching the top of the alleyway, he caught a glimpse of the black cloak of the stranger as he jumped behind the corner of a large building. Pushing his muscles to a point he didn't know he could achieve, he chased after the kidnapper; determined not to let him get away with the girl. He felt rage so pure that it evicted any logical or sensible thought from his mind that he now considered cowardly. He wouldn't try and get help or not give chase, no matter how strong this person was he clearly had something bad in mind for the kunoichi. Naruto had to stop him.

Soon, he could see his prey in front of him, after a brief moment of thinking he'd lost him. From rooftop to rooftop they lept, seemingly invisible to the people below. The chase brought them to the edge of Konoha's walls and then over as they continued through into the forest. The blonde allowed himself a grin as he realized he was starting to catch up with the abductor and he would soon be in reach for a take down. Before he could however, the stranger abruptly stopped his run and dropped into a clearing below the canopy.

Naruto followed suit, already ripping his greatsword free from it's home on his back. "Let her go and I won't kill you." He said as he landed, having to restrain himself from attacking. But, he wanted information first.

The stranger said nothing, but dropped the girl unceremoniously onto the ground with a simple shrug of his shoulder. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he grabbed his sword with both hands and held it parallel with the ground. Somehow, he didn't think that he was going to give up and run.

Casually reaching up, the man unclasped his cloak and pulled it off, dropping it onto the ground. The man was about five feet in height, just a few inches taller than Naruto, even though he was in his late twenties. His dark skinned body was lithe with little muscle. His most obvious accessory was a Kumo hitai-ate with a slash running through it, which was tied around his forehead. He was bald, with a large scar running from his right temple, around his eye and down past his jawline. He had on a vest, which Naruto guessed was his village's style of a chunin/jonin vest, which he left open revealing he wore no shirt underneath. His pants were black and dark purple in a camouflage pattern leading down to black ninja sandals.

Glaring at the man who seemed to regard the teen with little to no interest; akin to one seeing a bug. "I think I should be the one saying that runt. This girl's the ticket to me getting back into Kumogakure." The ninja spoke, his tone even but with a small hint of unpleasantness.

"How is she gonna help you? Last I checked most missing ninja stay that way. The best you'll get is a mercy kill." Naruto replied as evenly as he could, his rage wouldn't stay in check. Hearing the enemy ninja refer to his friend as nothing more than a tool angered him in ways that couldn't be described.

"Mercy kill? Maybe if I brought them something insignificant, but this girl has something Kumo's wanted for a long time. The Byakugan."

_Her dojutsu? But how would they steal. . . _Naruto started to think before the answer hit him in the gut with an icy fist. The cold he felt was soon replaced by an all encompassing heat that billowed from his core and filled his body. He grit his teeth as he felt the final wall representing his will to hold back from attacking start to strain and threaten to explode.

Smirking to himself, he saw that the genin was on the edge of attacking in a blind rage and decided another push was all it needed. "I can see what you're thinking, but don't worry she won't be killed and her eyes taken, rather she'll breed for the next ten years and give us strong children with the bloodline. We'll have our own Hyuuga clan."

That was it. Unleashing a battle cry that sounded more demonic than human, the missing ninja watched with a feeling close to fear as the young genin surged from his position with an explosion of red chakra. Naruto's greatsword moved almost too fast for him to see, as he leaped backwards and let the sword harmlessly dig into the ground. It did little to slow the berserk teen however, as he charged forward again, swinging his sword in an organized chaos that promised a grizzly death for the criminal should he stand still.

Knowing he had to change the tides, the ex-Kumo ninja waited, ducked a large horizontal swing and thrust out with his leg; kicking the feral ninja back. Not taking the small breather he gave himself for granted, his hands moved at a blurring speed as he created seals. Ending with the sign for bird, he shouted, "Raiton: Lightning Strike Jutsu!" Then, with a loud cry and flash from the sky, a bolt of lightning was summoned and struck the blonde.

Naruto cried out in pain for only a moment as the electricity attempted to fry him. However, he was lucky in the fact that Konoha made their sandals from rubber, thus greatly reducing the damage the attack caused. It was still quite a new sensation of pain for him however. Still dazed from the attack, the missing nin wasted no time as he threw a kunai directed at the unguarded heart of his opponent.

Naruto was able to regain his senses in time however, and was able to pivot his body enough to instead take the projectile in his left shoulder. Not bothering to remove it, he charged forward again. The lighting attack had cleared his head and he was thinking clearer. After making the missing ninja have to give him plenty of breathing room, he was able to make the seal for Kage Bunshin without dropping his sword. Four clones came into existence and wasted no time from their birth to attack the enemy in front of them.

The missing ninja cursed as he jumped and moved his body horizontally to avoid two sword strikes that aimed to decapitate and remove his legs. He was already annoyed at the fact the runt had survived his jutsu, and now he had to deal with four clones that moved with such precision that it was nearly impossible to get an attack in without getting killed in the process. That was the least of his concerns however, as he soon witnessed Naruto finishing up a set of seals.

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!"

Naruto watched as he let the fireball free and his clones attempted to grapple with the enemy and keep him in place. Not letting that be his only option however, Naruto quickly grabbed his sword that he had placed into the ground next to him and let it fly with a grunt. The sword spun and whistled through the air above the fireball. Grinning, he watched as the missing nin had in fact tried to jump the jutsu only to watch in horror as the greatsword slammed into his chest and cleaved him in two horizontally.

His grin was soon lost however, as the missing nin exploded into lightning that arched out and destroyed any clones not obliterated by the fireball. Spinning around quickly, Naruto raised his right forearm and blocked the incoming stab from the missing ninja's kunai. He couldn't move his left arm fast enough however, and cried out in pain as the weapon still lodged into his shoulder was pushed in further by the palm strike. Biting his lip and moving through the incredible pain, Naruto grasped both arms of his enemy and pulled him in close. Brining his head back, he screamed in rage as he brought his skull forward into the ninja's as he tried to get away from his grasp. After connecting the first time, Naruto brought his head back again, and again as he repeatedly head butted the missing ninja, starting to push him down until they both fell to the ground. Naruto was too close to the man to let him attack with his legs, and his arms locked at his sides.

Over and over, he slammed his skull into his enemy's, blood from both falling into his eyes and making him literally see red. Now it was simple contest of who would last longer through the assault. The headache Naruto felt earlier was nothing compared to the one he was starting to create as he felt himself start to get lightheaded, but refused to stop.

Using all his strength, was finally able to pull his right arm free and hurriedly brought it over to his left forming the seal for a substitution.

Naruto stopped his head from slamming into a large rock, and then jumped up, to see his opponent stumbling around, seemingly suffering a concussion from the assault. Using a focus and determination that he pulled from deep within, Naruto stumbled to his feet and quickly grasped the kunai that was lodged deep in shoulder. Without so much a cry, he yanked it free and threw it in one motion.

The ex-Kumo ninja barely registered the attack and tried to dodge it but it still buried itself to it's hilt into his stomach. The ninja grunted in pain and spit up blood as he stumbled back a step.

Naruto knew he was only a few moments from victory as he charged forward with a renewed sense of bloody vigor as he charged the injured criminal. The missing ninja parried the blonde's roundhouse left thrust kick but was hit by the following elbow that smashed into his face. Not stopping his body's rotation, he kept turning and thrust his right fist out and punched the ring of the kunai, completely burying it into the man's body. His opponent had barely a moment to scream before a left hook sent him spiraling into the ground.

Jumping onto his opponent, Naruto made sure to shove his knee into the man's stomach and pushed the metal projectile into an odd position within his enemy's body. Then, without mercy he began pummeling his opponents head into the ground with his right fist, hearing muffled screams as he felt the missing ninja's skull crack under the power of his attacks. Then with a final roar of pure and utter victory he brought his fist down for a final time and completely caved the missing ninja's skull in.

For a moment, Naruto stayed still, as he let his breathing even out and let the sweat and mixed blood trickle down his face and clothing. He stared at his hand which currently was still buried into the blood and gore that once was the missing ninja's head. Ripping his hand free, he shook it free of blood and brains and felt oddly at peace with himself, considering it was his first kill. He also tried his best to ignore the corrupted joyful screams of the Kyuubi as it praised the boy for his brutality.

Slowly standing, he looked over at the still unconscious form of Hinata and smiled to himself, knowing she was safe. As he started to draw near he though, he felt his world go white, as his headache returned with an unbelievable amount of force. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head before he screamed out, and saw the roof of his darkened apartment.

Shooting straight up, he realized he was still in his bed, but felt like he'd just finished a battle. Trying to even out his breathing, he looked down at his right hand, which had only moments before seemed covered in the seemingly real blood. Clenching and unclenching his fist, he felt extremely confused, now wondering what was reality and what was the dream?

"Seems like you won, Naruto Uzumaki."

Reacting on instinct, he quickly reached for the kunai under his pillow, only to find it missing. At the same time, he'd spun his head to the right, seeing a familiar kunoichi sitting on his dining room chair.

"Kurenai-san, what are you doing in my home?" he asked warily, more than he should of considering she was a fellow leaf ninja. Still, her unannounced presence was disturbing to the blonde. She'd been a little off key since Kenshin's death, either being depressed or simply trying to hide it, so he wondered if she finally went off the deep end. . .

Sensing his nervousness, she lifted her hands in surrender with a shrug. "Don't be so uptight. Most men would kill for me to be in their homes this late at night." She chuckled, watching his face light up even in the dark. Kurenai Yuuhi was right, she was one of the more beautiful kunoichi in the village, with her long curly black hair, piercing red eyes and lithe sexy figure, any man would die to have her.

Trying to shake the chagrin from his face he relaxed slightly but still wanted answers. Before he could ask however, Kurenai rose from the table and brought with her a single sheet of paper. Holding it before her, she looked at the blonde expectantly.

Looking between her and the paper, he slowly reached out and grabbed it, quickly scanning the title of the paper. "Chunin Exam Registration?" he shouted, not caring what time it was.

She smiled at his antics and nodded. "That's right, sign that and you'll be joining us in a week's time to participate in the exams."

While he felt overjoyed at the prospect of finally finding a way into the exams, he felt even more confused now than ever.

Seeing that, she sat down on his bedside, smirking to herself as she saw him scoot away from her with a blush. "You're probably confused as to why I suddenly brought this, and at this time of night?" she asked, seeing his quick nod. "After vouching for my team, saying they'd be ready for the exams, I started having second thoughts."

"Second thoughts?" Naruto repeated as he thought back to the few times he'd sat through the team training while waiting for Hinata to finish with her team. From what he saw, they had good teamwork and seemed pretty strong.

"Yes, my team lacks a vital component. A strong fighter to back up my team. It's meant to be a reconnaissance team, that in theory could hold it's own. But, Jin doesn't have any tracking abilities and even after these few months out of the academy he hasn't improved very well, where Hinata and Shino have made great strides. As much as I hate to say it, I don't want him holding my team back." She spoke, seeming to tread carefully with her words.

Naruto nodded then raised his hand, out of pure reflex from his days at the academy. "True, but then why didn't you let me just join right away? Why tell me that unless he himself quit you wouldn't let me in?"

"Because I had to see if you were strong enough. I had no intentions of letting my team go with you just because you needed a spot."

Feeling a little perturbed at her blatant calling out of his strength he puffed out his chest and banged on it once. "Hah! You don't need to worry 'bout me! I've been training really hard!" he replied, about to continue with that he was willing to accept any test she had when she interrupted him.

"I know that now, you passed my test with flying colors."

"Test? . . ." He spoke out slowly, clearly pronouncing the word. Then, his memory seemed to kick him as he recalled the first thing she said to him when he woke. "Wait. . . did you?"

Again she interrupted him this time a smile on her face. "Yes, a genjutsu the Yamanka were kind enough to teach me a while ago. It's one of the few techniques of their's that don't rely on their bloodline."

Feeling slightly creeped out, it fully dawned on him just what she'd done.

"It's hard to manipulate dreams as it is, for the human mind is extremely intricate and hard to predict, so I had to wait until you were completely exhausted in order for me to properly use the technique on you."

"So then, Hinata being kidnapped, that missing ninja I killed?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"All a dream of my orchestrating." She replied, keeping silent on her true thoughts of the matter. The missing ninja she'd 'created' was in essence her. She had been completely controlling the ninja and tried to simulate the abilities of a chunin level ninja. She was actually very impressed he'd been able to kill the chunin. She had planned for the fight to go on for some time before 'Shino' would of jumped in to help finish 'him' off, but the boy proved he could take care of himself. It had more than decided her on letting him take the exams with her team. She might even request his transfer to replace Jin, but doubted the Hokage would allow it.

"Then, that ninja I defeated? Was he made to be weaker than me or something?" he asked, starting to feel the elation of defeating the ninja slip away.

Knowing he was starting to kick himself, she quickly spoke up. "Make no mistake Naruto, that opponent was meant for you to _not _kill him. I clearly underestimated you and you won because of how much you've improved. I would of killed you had you given me the chance."

With a gulp, he eyed the genjutsu mistress warily, "W-what would of happened if you had?" he asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. Almost.

With an evil smirk she decided to mess with the teen. "Not too sure. Probably death."

Feeling a clear shiver erupt in his neck and slither down his spine he shook his head and just told himself he hadn't died and had won. "I-I see. . ."

"Anyways Naruto, meet Team Eight at training ground thirty seven in two days at eight AM."

Feeling a rush of excitement from getting to be on a team again, he nodded before a thought occurred to him. "Why two days from now? Doesn't your team normally train tomorrow?"

"Naruto," she sighed, wondering how he could forget, "Tomorrow's Founding Day remember?"

With a gasp, he wanted to jump for joy at being able to relive the festival twice, then reached over for his alarm clock and quickly set it for eight AM.

Overcome with curiosity, she raised her eyebrow at his antics. "Why are you setting your alarm clock so early? The festivities don't really start till ten at the first play."

Shooting a look at her that made her jump off his bed, he glared at her. "Last night in your dream I saw a prophetic vision! I don't know if you cooked that thing up for my own torture but I won't take any chances! That dango's mine!" he exclaimed before setting his alarm clock back down and laying back down.

Laughing to herself, she shook her head and mentally wished him good luck as she personally knew he'd need it. Deciding to take her leave, she put her hand in the seal for a Shushin, before Naruto's voice stopped her.

"Sensei?" he asked, his voice wavering as he hadn't called anyone that since Kenshin. "Thank you."

Kurenai smiled as she knew the simple thanks meant much more than that. "Just don't let me down Naruto." She replied before disappearing in a cloud and single leaf.

Grasping his blanket so tight he thought he might tear the fabric, he stared at his wall with such intensity it should of melted. _I won't Kurenai-sensei. That's a promise of a lifetime! _

Another Chapter down and we're starting to get to the parts I've been looking forward to writing! I hope everyone enjoyed this latest installment and I'll be keeping a stark vigil over my reviews. It's my crack, and I _enjoy _my addiction!

Oh, and to see if anyone's as much as nerd as me, I want to simply say that Naruto failed his Will save to resist Kurenai. Damn fighters, not having enough base save! Ten points to anyone who knows what the hell I'm talking about. Although I doubt many will. If you have no clue what I'm talking about then just shake your head and laugh at me. I would.

Shinobi no Ryu


	8. Chapter 8

Wow! Sorry for the horrible lag since my last update! I had some really bad troubles and distractions for the past few months and writer's block didn't help much either. I sincerely hope that I haven't lost any of my normal reviewers, from the lull in updates. I hope this chapter is up to par, if not better, than my other chapters since my absence. Read, review, and enjoy! I hope to have Chapter 9 up soon!

The first day of training for Naruto was bittersweet.

He had been ecstatic the second he had woken up. Much like a child on Christmas morning, something that Naruto had never experienced but could imagine, he rushed out of bed and quickly got ready; arriving at the training grounds thirty minutes too early. Twenty minutes later Shino came, walking quietly with his hands stuffed into his coat's pockets.

To Naruto, the boy was always a mystery. Even when they had been classmates in the academy, the boy was quiet. He never spoke unless called upon and even then his tone was low and monotone. He kept to himself and didn't seem to have any friends, at least not in school. Naruto knew that the Aburame was a large clan with a bloodline limit – or maybe ancient technique, that allowed them to nest insects within their bodies and let them fight. From what he recalled from the spars in the academy, his insects could siphon chakra from an opponent at an alarming rate. And while the use of his insects was restricted then, it didn't take a jonin to see how deadly they could be.

The Aburame heir gave a curt nod to Naruto, which he returned, before walking over to stand ten feet from him; leaning up against a tree. Naruto made no move to introduce himself to the boy, as it seemed they had already exchanged pleasantries judging by how Shino stared at the ground in front of him with his head down.

Moments later, Hinata joined them as well, looking overjoyed to see the blonde youth waiting. The two talked briefly, exchanging greetings and chatting about what had happened the night before, when Kurenai entered the training ground with a parcel wrapped in brown paper.

After getting proper introductions out of the way, Kurenai handed the package to Naruto. Opening it, he found it was a soft leather sheath outfitted for his greatsword. His temporary sensei explained that the gift was more of a practical reason than anything. Naruto needed to practice with his weapon in spars and the full sheath guaranteed that he couldn't kill anyone with it by slashing. He still had to avoid hitting areas like the head with the hulking weapon, lest he cave in one of his teammates skulls.

The training regiment that Kurenai put her students through was much harder than what Kenshin's had been. From eight AM to noon they practiced chakra control, did chakra building exercises which were achieved by using jutsu, throwing practice, and finally sparring. During the chakra control exercises however, Kurenai found that Naruto had still yet to learn the tree climbing exercise and had him work on learning it for the whole day until sparring. He had gotten it down and was able to walk up ten feet before loosing control. His teammates and sensei had given him invaluable tips from the start, allowing for a pain free learning experience.

Then, during sparring, he found that he had an almost unfair advantage against Shino. His style of offense was to drain his opponents of chakra until they either surrendered or died. Not only did Naruto have a gigantic chakra pool, thus allowing him to fight longer, but Shino's insects almost immediately stopped draining the blonde shinobi. With a disturbing look and quick surrender, Shino informed the team that his insects refused to "eat" Naruto's chakra because it had a foul and unnatural taste, that would most likely lead to death should they continue feeding from it.

Naruto acted offended at first, scoffing and making it sound like Shino was commenting about his hygiene, while in the back of his mind he knew that it was because his chakra was tainted with Kyuubi's chakra. While she showed no outward signs, Kurenai was immediately worried and decided to bring it up with the Hokage later that day.

The spar with Hinata and Naruto had started out bad, because both fighters had reservations about sparring with the other. She didn't want to fight the teen because not only did she love him, but was horrified at the thought of looking weak in front of him. He didn't want to either, he was afraid to hurt the girl with his greatsword.

While somewhat happy that the two teammates cared for each other so, Kurenai was quick to fill the role of teacher and reprimand them for it. They had to fight, so they could not only get stronger but to better understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, so that they might take advantage of and protect each other in a real combat situation. Finding truth and reason in her words, the two reluctantly agreed, and soon fought in earnest. While slow and clumsy at first, they soon feel into a groove that allowed them to fight comfortably and still fight seriously.

Much to Kurenai's surprise, the Hyuuga heir was fighting more fiercely than she had seen before. While it was obvious to the jonin that Naruto would win in the end, it wouldn't be without some damage. The woman smiled as she watched her only kunoichi duck a broad swipe and counter quickly with a jab to a tenketsu on the blonde's upper leg. Turning away from the spar, she began to fight with Shino since he wasn't able to fight Naruto.

After sparring and training, they did the various D-rank missions that all genin were called upon to do. Boring and tedious, but necessary. For the remainder of the month, they constantly continued on with the harsh training regiment which was rather easy for the blonde youth compared to his solo training, which he also tried to continue after they were released for the day. Naruto was a man possessed and fatigue was something he refused to acknowledge.

Then, two days before the exams, Team Eight decided to take the time to relax and prepare themselves for the milestone in their young lives.

The night before the exams, Naruto had a nightmare. The same nightmare that plagued his dreams before, but this one was worse. Far worse than any of the others. For now he truly knew he could turn into that beast and would have to watch as it killed his friends. This time, the nightmare had added actors. Not only was his deceased team still in the dream, but Team Eight was added. Sakura was replaced by Hinata, an older beautiful Hinata that Naruto had no idea how he conjured her in his mind. If he hadn't been horror stricken with what he was about to do, he would of admired her radiant goddess beauty.

But this is where the dream deviated horribly, even more so than the change of actors. Instead of being able to awaken before the gruesome decapitation, he watched flesh and muscle do little to resist his pull as he removed her head from it's proper place. Blood exploded from the fatal wound as the body lost all tension and went slack, collapsing onto the ground. He screamed and begged to be able to stop, to look away, but no matter how he turned or tried to close his eyes, the grotesque action was omnipresent. Then, hearing the Kyuubi cackle in his own mind, he watched as his possessed self raised the lifeless head over his own and greedily caught the falling princess' blood into his mouth before caving in the skull with a powerful squeeze.

He awoke, screaming as loud as his body could and shot out of bed, rolling onto the floor and couldn't register anything else than the horrific last few moments that occurred in the nightmare, which replayed over and over again. The image of his teammates disfigured head, so easily crushed by his grip, was burned in his mind. Soon though, he calmed from his hysteria somewhat, enough to realize that it had been in fact a horrific nightmare. Propping himself up onto his shaky arms and legs, he breathed heavily as he focused on the hardwood of his floor and the sweat mingled with tears that dripped onto it. His mind felt like the contents of a dryer that was finishing up. Slowly, his thoughts stopped flying around his mind and slowly settled down into an unorganized mess that would need sorting and replacement into their proper place. After another long round of steady breathing, Naruto pushed himself against the frame of his bed and sat on the warm floor with one leg tucked under the other which was pointing out.

Finally regaining his senses, he cursed at the demon spirit that resided within him. He couldn't hear the stupid thing unless he was pulled into the special mind scape that represented the part of him in which the Kyuubi resided, but he knew it was laughing and mocking him. Pointlessly, he punched himself as hard as he could with his right fist into his gut, making himself double over in pain. It was out of pure malice and spite, and prayed the fox would feel it. _Fucking demon! Stop messing with me! _Naruto cursed in his head as loud as he could, just trying to somehow lash back at the thing for giving him such a hellish experience.

Uttering a final curse to acknowledge acceptance of the fact he couldn't hurt the fox, he crawled back into bed to try and fall back asleep in vain.

Nine AM seemed to take forever to come around, as Naruto sat against the wall of the academy near the door. He had been there since five, having not been able to sleep again after waking up from his nightmare. At first, he was up on the roof watching the sunrise both anxious for the upcoming exams and fearful of what his dreams seemed to almost promise. He wanted to go train, as it always helped to clear his head, but knew he had to save his strength for anything the exams might throw his way. He relocated to the door as he started to see teams file into the academy.

Meeting the other team with polite nods, some which weren't returned, he waited with anticipation with every foot step he heard come around the wall. Shino was the first to show, making no outward appearance to acknowledge Naruto except for the small nod that the blonde had grown accustomed to. If he did anything more, Naruto might actually be afraid.

Hinata came next, Kurenai right behind her. The butterflies Hinata felt at the moment were visible on her face.

"Today's it, are you all ready?" Kurenai asked, confident that her team was ready. Her team had improved since Naruto had joined. She almost dared to say that the teamwork the faux Team 8 displayed was better than the original.

"You know it!" Naruto replied for the whole team as the other two tended to be silent or too quiet for even trained shinobi ears to hear. "So Sensei, you still can't tell us what the first test is?" he asked, pleading with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

"You know I can't Naruto, no matter how many times you beg." She responded, half-annoyed and half-amused. "The only thing I can tell you is that if you want to beat this thing all you need is each other." She continued, smiling as she remembered how her sensei had said the exact same thing to her team so many years ago.

The three all glanced at each other with determined looks and confident smiles. Whatever this exam would throw at them, they knew they could take it.

After getting past an obvious trap which only included simple understanding of how many flights of stairs one climbed, Team 8 arrived in the actual testing room. Packed with genin of varying ages, Naruto wondered just how hard this test was. There was even a man in his late thirties with two fresh academy students sitting next to him. _I think that might be a sign you aren't cut out for it. . ._ Naruto thought with a sad chuckle.

Seeing the rest of their generation hanging out against the wall, Team 8 drifted over and found their own places. Team 7 was the last in, causing a huge commotion as Sakura and Ino interrupted Sasuke's beeline towards Naruto by preforming a double flying glomp. Having been keenly attuned to Sakura's attempts, Sasuke smirked as he ducked the hug and allowed Ino to slam into the other kunoichi. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate gravity as the the combined weight of the girls slammed him to the ground. Naruto couldn't help himself as he snorted and doubled over laughing as the three started thrashing about in a pile their screams mingling into a unintelligible mess of sound.

Seeing this, Akamaru began to bark loudly from atop Kiba's head, his tail wagging at full speed as his puppy instincts roared at him to jump down and join the fun.

"Um. . . Naruto-kun. . ." Hinata whispered, shaking the blonde's shoulder.

Naruto quickly sobered as he recognized the upset tone that his friend had. Looking up, he saw that their little area had drawn the attention of the entire classroom, some had amused looks, while most had piercing glares. "Looks like we didn't make any friends." He replied, subconsciously stepping in front of Hinata.

"Will you guys be quiet? You'll get yourself singled out really quick like that."

Looking towards the voice, he saw a young man with silver hair and large round glasses walking up to the group. He also wore the Konoha hitai-ate around his forehead. His appearance seemed to quell the disturbance the fresh genin were causing.

"I swear, you're all way too green to be entering this exam, what was your sensei thinking?" he continued.

"And just who the hell are you to say something like that, huh punk?" Kiba snarled, as he walked up to the mysterious leaf ninja.

Scoffing at the pathetic barking, he just smiled at the boy. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi, and I'm just trying to make sure you guys don't get killed early on, if you even pass this first test. You're all so green it's painfully obvious."

"So you've said. You're not making too many friends yourself shooting your mouth off like that." Naruto said, watching the other man with a guarded expression. He didn't distrust the guy or anything, but him just coming out of the woodwork to warn everyone was strange.

Kabuto looked over towards the blonde and shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, I just have the problem of being too blunt sometimes." He replied. _So that's the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, eh? Judging by the info I've gathered something tells me if the Akatsuki doesn't act fast they might have a hard time getting this boy. Ever since his team was slaughtered his strength has been seemingly increasing at a strong and steady pace. _Walking up to the boy, he held up his hands.

"Let me extend the hand of friendship then, by offering you some valuable information then. Ask me about any ninja and I can tell you their strengths and weaknesses."

Before Naruto could even mull over the offer, Sasuke quickly walked around Kabuto, fire burning in his eyes. "Tell me all you know about Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto grumbled to himself as he listened to Sasuke talk like he wasn't there. He tried to pay it no mind however, as he figured it was just a way to rile him.

_It worked. Too bad I can't pound him into in the dirt right now. _

"Sure, no problem. First up is Naruto Uzumaki then," Kabuto stated as he pulled out a blank orange card no bigger than a trading card and focused some chakra into it and everyone watched in amazement as a picture of the blonde, a graph and lines of information appeared on the card. "According to my information, Naruto here is particularly strong in taijutsu – kenjutsu included – and ninjutsu. No bloodline to speak of, and no skill in genjutsu at all. A total of 15 D rank missions complete, and a failed A rank mission."

The rookie nine that weren't in the know began to murmur amongst themselves about the failed A rank. "How did you even get assigned an A rank?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto clicked his tongue as he suddenly wanted to steal every info card and burn them all. "It's too long of a story to tell right now." He replied, hoping that would kill any further questions.

"Hey wait, now that I think about it, weren't you on a different team?" Ino asked, trying to remember who the other member in Team 8 was.

_Shit, I'd really rather not get into this right now. _Naruto thought, taking a small step back involuntarily, attempting to somewhat remove himself from this. God was kind to him however, as faint chakra signatures was all the warning anyone got as a resounding boom echoed. Four shinobi appeared in the smoke of the shushin, the one in the middle being a huge man wearing a black trench coat and grey military suit underneath. His face was marred with scars and his very demeanor seemed to speak volumes about the man himself. His booming voice only added to the image.

"Listen up maggots! Everyone shut the hell up and sit down! The first exam has started!" As if his voice was some form of genjutsu intended to create obedience, everyone quickly complied and sat down. Team 8 chose to sit at the middle aisle of desks near the edge.

Naruto had instantly recognized the shinobi as Moreno Ibiki, as he had been able to taste the man's impressive interrogation techniques. His body involuntarily shuddered and ached at the memory. Shaking his head to clear up the thought, he tried to just focus on the sadist and what test his sick mind could possibly cook up.

Ibiki smirked as he scanned the silent crowd and saw his initial entrance seemed to pack the appropriate punch. Most had troubled expressions on their faces, save a few of the tougher genin. He saw that the genin he had interrogated was also in attendance. If there was as dedicated a watcher for Ibiki as Naruto had, they would notice his scowl drop for a millisecond into a frown. Ibiki had truly come to feel bad, if not borderline regret the interrogation he had put Naruto through. He had been so convinced that the Kyuubi had taken him over in some form he couldn't risk allowing him to walk free until he had been sure.

And this was coming from a man who once slowly carved up a hardened Iwa nin with a dull kunai, attempting to obtain information on an ambush. To the Iwa-nin's credit, he hadn't spoke.

"Welcome to the first exam, but don't get comfortable. I have made it my personal mission to make sure not a single one of you passes. I've read all of your personnel files and it's clear you stand no chance." Ibiki spoke with an invisible smirk. It was all bullshit, he hadn't read any files; he just loved to watch the anger and fear play out over their faces. It was the genin who didn't flinch that he knew had a better chance to pass this test.

"This first exam will be a mental test. You will all first be relocated, each chair is marked with a number, as your name is called move to your assigned seat."

Much to Team Eight's disappointment, they had been split up and separated quite a distance away from each other. It seemed that had happened to all the other teams though as well. And, much to Naruto's disgust he had been sat down next to the Uchiha. The prodigy seemed to dislike the idea just as much as him, judging by the frigid aura the teen was giving off.

"You all have one hour to complete a ten question test, the last question will be posted at the end of the hour time limit. If you are caught cheating, you and you're entire team will be disqualified!" Ibiki announced, fiercely declaring the consequences.

Gasps of shock and anger filled the room along with glances to other teammates as if trying to tell them to not fuck it up.

Naruto glanced at his teammates and saw they both seemed confident. He was starting to be able to read Shino by his body posture, which he was glad for as it was getting increasingly annoying to deal with the stoic teen. Hinata had an air of confidence, but he could tell there was definitely an underlying doubt as he watched her hands not able to stop wringing ever few seconds. But, after a quick meeting of eyes and a grin from Naruto, she stopped the nervous motion all together and a bright blush spread on her face.

_I hope she's not feeling ill, that'd be a bad start to the exams. _Naruto thought with a touch of worry. Deciding she'd be okay, he turned his attention back to the front.

Ibiki slowly scanned the crowd making sure the seating arrangements were correct as well as making sure all his planted chunnin were mingled in right with the genin. Seeing everything was good, Ibiki glanced down at his watch.

_ 9:59:51, good, right on schedule. _Counting down in his head, Ibiki announced at exactly 10 o'clock. "Begin!"

It hadn't taken long for Naruto to realize the difficultly of the test. All of the questions posed in the test hadn't even been covered in lectures. The only plausible way any genin would know these questions is if they did the extra bookwork themselves. Glancing over at Sakura, he groaned seeing how easily and diligently she was answering the question. He quickly snapped his eyes back down however, not wanting to be the reason his team was kicked out.

Rubbing his temples, he tried his hardest to even remember some formula or theory that could help him with the first question. After two minutes of fruitless brain racking, Naruto almost wanted to scream. The anger seemed to trigger his memory however, as he recalled something Kenshin had told them during a training exercise.

_"Remember, the world is not two-dimensional. If you can't solve a problem normally, think of it from a different perspective." _

_ A different perspective. . . _Naruto thought, feeling a epiphany in the works. Then, as if a bolt of lightning struck, he found another perspective.

Ibiki.

The man wasn't best at being an interrogator for nothing, the man was a sadist. Sadists enjoy seeing others suffer and and in pain. It didn't always need to be physical as Naruto had learned.

_So, knowing how he gets his kicks, he probably designed this test in a way that he could enjoy it. Under normal circumstances, tests don't allow cheating in the first place, so why go to all the trouble to announce it? Also, why would he give us questions so hard we couldn't answer them? _

As Naruto thought, he happened to glance over at Sasuke and saw that the boy had his legendary bloodline activated and was staring intently at another testers arm. He also noticed that Sasuke wasn't looking at his own paper, yet was writing out the answers perfectly!

Seeing and thinking all of this, a mini-explosion erupted in the blonde's head as he finally understood the purpose of the test. _We're supposed to cheat! That's why he warned us about cheating, this test is designed to test our ability to obtain information without getting caught! _

This revelation was as much of a headache as it was a relief. He knew his teammates would be fine, without guessing he figured both were using their bloodlines to get the answers. _I don't have any special ability like that, how could I possibly. . . _His train of thought went off there as he grinned remembering a prank he had pulled a few years ago. Reaching down slowly to the pouch on his back, he glanced at each of the proctors within eye shot and saw they were not looking at him. Quickly, he grabbed the item he needed and hid it under his desk.

Waiting and biding his time, he glanced over at Sasuke's desk and saw the boy had finished and deactivated his sharingan. Channeling his chakra into the item he grasped, he smirked. _Now!_

Ibiki was starting to get irked, as only 5 teams had been removed so far. So either his proctor's had been messing up and couldn't catch simple genin in cheating, or this year's stock had been very good. Either way, his men were in for a surprise at the end of the test if the disqualification rate didn't start to pick up.

Trying to let go of his anger, he glanced over at the blonde ninja who stood out worse than the puppet user with the gigantic sword leaning against the desk. _I wonder how he'll get through this, if he even can. _

No sooner had he thought that, Ibiki and everyone else in the room let out a startled shout as a blinding white light and deafening bang exploded from the aisle on the opposite side of where Naruto sat.

His ears were ringing, but because he had closed his eyes, the flash bomb Naruto threw down under the desk into the aisle hadn't blinded him. Praying he got all the proctors and Sasuke, Naruto snapped his hand out and swapped papers with the other boy. Then, quickly erased Sasuke's name off the test and wrote his own. Finishing up, he dropped his pencil and started groaning and rubbing his eyes – keeping a firm hand on his paper.

"_Who the hell threw that?" _Ibiki screamed as some semblance of order started to settle again. Snapping his head around, he tried to figure it out when he caught a glimpse of Naruto smiling like a cat who just ate the canary. Ibiki was torn between wanting to snap the runt's neck or offering him congratulations. Seeing that none of his other proctors caught it, he decided to let the boy get away with his plan. Smirking he thought, _At least that's the first time anyone's pulled that one. If nothing else, it certainly isn't a boring test._

Clearing his eyes, Sasuke cursed wondering what the hell had happened. From the effects, he concluded it was a flash bomb or something similar. Grunting, he looked down towards his test. _At least I got all the answers. . . _he began to think before cutting off slowly.

"What the-?" he exclaimed, seeing the completely blank test page. Snapping his head around thinking it flew off, he saw Naruto's test paper which had _his _handwriting all over it!

_ Son of a bitch stole my test! _He screamed mentally, grinding his teeth. He knew he would get caught if he tried to take the paper back and get himself disqualified. Cursing in his head and glaring a burning hole into the blonde's skull he swore revenge.

"Pencils down! Test is over!"  
Flipping his page over, Naruto glanced towards his teammates and saw both of them giving them thumbs up. He flashed them a smile, and Sasuke one too, replying silently that they'd be okay.

"And now, before I ask the tenth question, I have one additional rule to announce." Ibiki said, earning a loud groan from several examinees. "Quiet! Stop your bitching if you know what's good for you!" hearing the protests stop, he continued. "If you don't feel that you can answer this next question, raise your hand and you can leave the room with your team and you can retry next exam; However," he paused, enjoying the drama, "should you decide to take the question and fail it? You will be forbidden from taking the Chunnin exams ever again and will remain a genin so long as you are a ninja!"

Mixed reactions flew through the classroom as quiet whispers and loud protests bounced. Some teams already had members snapping their hands up disqualifying their entire team.

` Naruto immediately looked towards Hinata who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. _Shit not good, if I know her she's already thinking if she takes the question she'll cause us to fail. _He knew Shino wouldn't buckle, he was far too logical to allow his emotions to rule his decision making.

_I have to admit though, I'm feeling shaky about this myself. But there's no way I'm backing down, not now. _Keeping his eyes trained on Hinata, he watched her struggle with the decision, so much so she hadn't even looked towards Shino or himself. Looking back towards Ibiki, the bastard was smiling and he knew this tenth question must have some angle to it like the test had. This time, he wasn't going to let Ibiki have his fun.

As soon as she had heard the horrible choice, Hinata had already decided what she should do. _There's no way I can risk Shino-kun and Naruto-kun's future careers. I know I can't do this. E-Even if Naruto-kun hates me for it, I have to do it._

She tried to will her hand to move, but she could feel the gaze of the blonde swordsman on her. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him, too ashamed to even look at those gorgeous eyes of his that she knew held contempt for her. Feeling tears start to well up in her eyes, she remembered all the horrible things her father had said about her and it only reinforced her decision to not drag Naruto and Shino down because of her weakness she –

Hinata's thoughts were cut off suddenly by a loud shouting coming from Naruto.

"Hey Ibiki! How about you cut it out with these goddamn mind games and just present the damn question! I don't give a damn if I stay a genin forever, no _real _ninja would ever back down from something like this just because it had some small consequence! Even if I never make chunin, I swear I'll become so strong I'll be the first genin ever to become Hokage!"

Ibiki showed no outward gesture of the genin's outburst but inside he was a boiling pot of anger and pride. Anger at the little bastard for completely bolstering the resolve of any examinees left and pride at how much promise he showed as a ninja.

"If you're done I suggest you sit back down and shut up." Ibiki replied.

Naruto complied, but did so with a glare. However, he was pleased with himself and his outburst and it also seemed to have of erased all of the princess's fears and doubts about taking the test as she had a brilliant smile on her face that was directed towards him. Feeling a small fire light in his heart, it reflected in his face as he quickly turned away.

"Seeing as how no one else seems ready to leave, I'll now present the final question." Looking around with an actual smile now, Ibiki laughed at the expressions, most of all on Naruto's face. "You all pass!"

After the initial shock and rage of realizing that the tenth question was just staying, everyone cheered and rushed to their teammates. Meeting Shino and Hinata in the aisle where his bomb went off, Naruto couldn't help but notice the smile that was still lighting up Hinata's face. _Why have I never noticed, how pretty she looks __when she smiles? _

"Naruto, were you the one who set off that?" Shino asked, knocking Naruto out of his reverie.

Naruto immediately replied by 'shushing' the boy, electing a giggle from Hinata. "Could you yell that for me Shino!" he whispered harshly.

"You caused my colony undue stress from that, please provide some warning next time."

Naruto just blinked as he started feeling shivers run up his spine from the thought. "Sure, but it was kind of a last minute thing."

"So it was you. I'll get you back for stealing my paper you bastard."

Looking over, Naruto only grinned at Sasuke who was extremely irate. "Don't be so angry duck-ass, you still passed."

Clenching his fists and growling, Sasuke was almost exploding from anger. Just as he was about to charge the blonde and deck him, an explosion of sound alerted all the ninja in the room to the flying grass shrapnel that flew into the room.

Following the glass was a red kite that exploded into a gigantic banner and revealed a voluptuous woman wearing only a trench coat, a fishnet body suit and large leg armor. It was none other than the Tokubetsu (Special) ANBU Anko Mitarashi.

Naruto's jaw dropped as he instantly recognized the woman from the festival that had happened a few days before. "T-That ridiculous hairstyle and slutty way of dressing! It's you the dango thief!"

Glaring at the young boy, the indigo haired woman growled. "How dare you say that to me! That dango was mine fair and square!"

"Fair my ass! You stole it from me after I woke up super early to buy the stuff!"

Chuckling, she planted her foot forward and put her hands on her luscious hips. "That's fair, haven't you heard? All's fair in war and dango!"

"Anko, stop being a pest. You already made a huge mess." Ibiki growled, annoyed at his star pupil. She pulled stunts like this often, generally resulting in property damage and civilian injuries.

Of course she paid no heed to Ibiki as she had charged up to the blonde ninja and was squaring off with him, glaring into his eyes. "Limp dicked runt! Either shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you! You already ruined my entrance!"

"Old hag bimbo! You're the one who should shut your mouth!"

Anko saw red and drew her kunai, getting ready to throw it just as Naruto started drawing his zanbatou. Before any fight could start however, a very pissed Ibiki appeared between them, graping both their collars.

"That's it! All of you report to Training Ground 44 in two hours or be disqualified!" Ibiki shouted to the crowd of stunned genin. Snapping his head towards Anko and Naruto he put on the face that meant someone was in for it. "_You two are coming with me." _

Disappearing in a cloud of smoke, Hinata gasped as Ibiki, Naruto and Anko all transported to some unknown location. "S-Shino-kun. . .?" was all she could utter as she looked towards her other teammate.

Shino only shrugged, "Let's just report to Kurenai-sensei and then the training ground. Nothing else we can do."

Hinata whimpered as she nodded, knowing there was nothing she could do other than pray for her crush's safety. 


	9. Chapter 9

Groaning, Naruto gingerly reached up and hissed as he felt the bruise forming on his cheek start to let him know to not touch. After the scene in the first exam room, Ibiki took both him and Anko outside and didn't even warn them before slugging Naruto and kneeing Anko in her gut. After a lengthy lecture/verbal assault, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, letting out a final command to Anko to make sure she got to the next exam in time.

So there they both now sat, in front of a booth that had been set up by the infamous Traning Ground 44, also known as The Forest of Death. Anko had pulled out a small container that held four sticks of dango, ones that Naruto recognized immediately as the special dango that was sold at the festival a few days prior. Watching with a heated glare, he watched as her lips covered one of the sweet red bean paste delights and slowly pulled it off the skewer. He watched, as she slowly chewed and imagined how the special blend of flavors must be exploding over her tongue.

Not being able to take anymore, he rotated on the spot he sat and stared at her. "Will you let me have one!" he begged, trying his best to keep his temper at bay. He shouldn't have to beg! He woke up early just to get at least one, his effort should of counted for something!

Looking over towards the blonde, the dango stick hanging out of her mouth, she actually considered it for a moment. Any kindness she may have had though was a fleeting thing however, as she ate the last ball on the stick and threw it away. "Nope."

"Aw, come on, why not?"

"Because it's mine runt. I don't share my dango."

_Well,_ Naruto thought, _at least she's honest. If not completely selfish. Maybe I can find some way to steal them, hm. . . _Before he could enact his diabolical scheme however, voices began to drift in on the wind. Looking back over, he saw the examinee's starting to appear over the horizon all looking somewhat nervous as they saw the dreaded forest.

Hinata took a large gulp as she saw the Forest of Death come into view. She'd heard plenty of rumors about the training ground, none of them good. Deadly beasts and insects that could eat a man whole. A book of herbs that she had rented from the library had numerous plants and vegetation that could be farmed and utilized as deadly venoms. Over half the book's listing could be found in this training ground. Just touching a few of them could induce fever, hallucinations and even death if not treated properly. It was certainly aptly named, if nothing else.

"Are you worried?" Shino asked, seeing his teammates distress.

Hinata gasped, surprised from hearing the sudden question as it jolted her from her thoughts. "U-uhm, n-not really. . ." she whispered her reply, looking down towards her feet. It had been a complete lie.

One that had not gone unnoticed by Shino. "You shouldn't be."

"Eh? W-why?" she asked, feeling foolish from the question but she was curious as to why he would be soon optimistic.

"Between my knowledge of all the local insects, lethal and non-lethal, and your expertise on fauna, most of the forests' natural threats should be no problem for us to avoid or handle – depending on the situation."

Hinata looked at the boy in wonder, half-shocked that he had spoken more in one breath than she had heard before and that he had said something that was very profound to the kunoichi. She realized that she had been looking at her knowledge as something to feed her fears and doubts, rather than use it to strengthen herself and employ it to help her team.

"I don't know what we'll face, but I'm sure the three of us will do fine."

"Shino," she started, causing the boy to glance at her, "Thank you." She finished with a smile.

If he had smiled back, or shown any indication of being embarrassed, it was lost behind the glasses and hood of his jacket. "Of course."

Looking back ahead, Hinata felt her heart begin to beat faster as she saw over the hill her crush waving towards her, seated next to the purple haired instructor.

After the all the teams got settled, and Anko finished her lunch, she walked in clear view of all the teams by jumping up on a large rock. "Alright, listen up all of you! What you see behind me is the dreaded Forest of Death! Do not think that the name is for show. The second you step past the fence and until the moment you leave, your life will be forfeit!"

Even though he knew it was all hype, Naruto still couldn't suppress the cold chill that ran down his spine as he glanced around Anko and into the black void that consumed the tree line of the Forest of Death. Unknown creatures slithering through leaves and tall grass, high pitched animal screams shooting through the still air like sirens. The very trees themselves seemed evil and tainted, their bark dark and discolored. Growing in gnarled and bent shapes, as they formed the impenetrable canopy that allowed little light to illuminate the impure ground.

Looking over, he saw Hinata trying very hard to not break out into a cold sweat and keep the brave look on her face. He knew even Shino had to of been feeling some fear.

"The rules for the second exam are simple. For the next ten days you will all be forced into a survival scenario, stuck in the Forest of Death." Anko continued, grinning to herself as she heard the horrified gasps that swept through some of the more easily scared genin. She even chuckled as she heard one large genin freak out at the very concept of being without good food for so long. "Furthermore, each team will be given one of two scrolls, either the heaven or earth scroll." Pulling out each as she spoke, she held them up for everyone to see. "On the tenth day, in order to pass, you will have to have both of these scrolls on your person and get to the tower in the exact middle of the forest between 1200 and 1800 hours. This test was designed to simulate being deep in enemy territory after stealing important documents that are imperative to your home country. Although, I don't know how many fucked up forests like this you'll have to pass through."

Reaching into her trench coat, she pulled out a piece of paper that had in huge bold print 'Death Waiver'. "And, you'll have to sign this. While not encouraged, killing is allowed for this part of the exam." This announcement seemed to really nail down the final idea that this exam wasn't a game. "Over there," she said, pointing towards a small booth, "each team will go in to sign their forms and receive one scroll. In order to get the other, you'll have to get it from another team. Hence the form."

"S-So, we're going to have to f-fight other teams then?" Hinata asked, looking towards Naruto.

"Possibly kill." Shino added, from the other side of the blonde.

Sighing at his input, he had to admit though, he had a point. "Yes, but it'll be okay. Cause we're way better than any of these idiots!" Naruto said, practically yelling the last bit, turning his head towards the crowd behind him.

Growls and threats erupted and Naruto only laughed as he picked out Team Seven loud and clear.

Hearing her teams support, Hinata couldn't help but smile.

"Oh!" Anko shouted, snapping her fingers. "Before I forget, there's one additional quirk to this years test. After the second day there will be a chunin team who will be hunting for you, doing periodical sweeps of the forest. While their orders are to only take the scrolls from you, they have orders to use lethal force if they find it necessary to defend themselves. So, unless you have a pair of balls the size of a rhino's and the skill level of a chunin, I suggest you either run for your life or hand over the scrolls like a good boy." She glanced at Naruto at the end, letting him know that particular bit was intended for him.

In response, he gave her the two finger salute.

After all the teams had been given their scrolls and signed their waivers, they were led by other instructors to various gates around the forest so that they wouldn't have a gigantic free-for-all at the main gate. Anko took Team Eight and headed them out towards their gate, which was located on the far north-eastern side.

Arriving, Anko glanced at her watch seeing there was only seconds until it was time to allow all genin through the gate.

"Hey, runt." Anko said, her voice strangely subdued for her.

"Yea?" Naruto replied, wondering where she was going with this.

For a moment, she tried to think why she even cared, but she had to admit she was impressed with the kid. Not many people could take a punch from Ibiki and call him a fucking asshole sadist who enjoyed hitting kids while looking him in the eye. In a way, he reminded her of herself when she was a kid. "Don't die, okay?"

Blinking, he wondered what possible ulterior motive she was cooking up.

"'Cause only I get to kill you, got it!" she finished with a toothy grin.

_That's more like it. _Naruto thought with a sigh. Then, a large blaring alarm sounded in the distance and Anko pushed open the door.

"Get going and show those bastards Konoha's the best!" Watching them leave, Anko couldn't help but really hope the kid would be okay.

"No way in hell."

"Naruto, it'll be fine. You need to keep your strength up."

"Is it ramen flavored, Shino?"

"No, snake's aren't usually that flavor."

"No way in hell."

After being released into the Forest of Death, Team Eight headed straight to get deep into the forest and away from the edge in case any other teams were skimming around the fence. So far, the plan had worked. They continued to make slow and steady process into the forest, Hinata heading the front with her byakugan activated and Naruto pulling up the flank. She was only able to keep it up for about three hours before she began to show signs of chakra exhaustion. Both Shino and Naruto were surprised and proud of the young heiress who never once asked for a break and even tried to keep going, despite the exhaustion.

The break came at a good time however, as the already dark forest started to become worse. Trying to navigate this deathtrap then, even with the byakugan, would be suicide. Deciding it was time to make camp, they found a perfect spot. There was a large hole under a tree that you had to crawl under a root to get to. It was rather large and spacious, the only drawback being how the ground was damp and many insects made their homes there. Naruto had a solution to that problem, but Shino refused, saying it was just like an enemy ninja killing him and taking his apartment. While he at first thought it was a bad example, he did suppose being able to talk to bugs would make you more sympathetic to them.

"Naruto, you have to eat something." Shino urged again. Normally, he wouldn't care if Naruto wanted to skip a meal but in this case it was detrimental to the team's safety if they weren't all at one-hundred percent. He expected hesitation from Hinata, given her delicate nature, but not Naruto.

Grumbling, Naruto looked at the dead snake with a scowl. Just because he was a boy didn't mean he was a picky eater. "Remind me again why I can't just go find a meaty boar and cook it over a damn fire?"

"Because, lighting a fire under here would not only be dangerous, but would make our _hiding spot _easy to spot by the smoke that would be coming out of it." Shino replied, his tone bordering on sarcastic.

"N-Naruto-kun, I-I don't think its that bad. . . besides we n-need to eat." Hinata chimed in, glad there wasn't a fire. She was sitting only inches away from Naruto and could feel his body heat. She couldn't help but think what it would be like if he had his arms wrapped around her and keeping her warm. It was autumn, and the night was starting to get cold.

Hearing her words, he finally shrugged and held out his hand. He grimaced, as he felt Shino drop the snake in his hands, it felt weird and disgusting to the blonde. "So. . .what we eat it raw?"

"It's fresh. It'll be fine."

Shino had already skinned and gutted the snake, even cutting off the head. Looking over to Hinata, he watched her delicately bite off some of the pale white flesh and slowly chew it. _Well shit, if she'll eat it so will I. _Throwing caution to the wind he bit a large chunk off the body and started to chew it as fast as he could. The flavor hit the blonde in a strange way and he looked at his team, still chewing.

"It tastes like chicken."

Naruto picked first watch that night. At first, he thought it was going to be just like the last watch he'd been on before. But he was dead wrong. The first thing was the dark. He was used to sitting by a campfire, a book in his hands. This time he had nothing to occupy himself with, thus making it hard to keep his mind off being alone and in the dark. Not even moonless nights were this dark. Though his sight had become accustomed to the night, he could barely make anything out besides his teammates shapes and the small entrance. Then slowly, the darkness was compounded with sound. Predators that stalked the night took down prey with effortless attacks that quickly silenced the stark yelps which echoed through the forest. The wind blew through the hole under the tree, if it was strong enough it made a shrill howl. Even the harmless night insects sounded sinister.

He tried to keep his wits about him, but his foot constantly tapping showed his primal instinct which screamed _run the fuck away. _Only a steel will and ninja training kept him from freaking out. The cold didn't help at all either. It slowly creeped into his skin, then his bones, and slowly felt as if it penetrated his soul, affecting his mood.

About two hours into the watch, he felt like screaming. Then, glancing down and to his left, he saw Hinata. Seeing his teammate wouldn't normally be out of the ordinary, but for some reason the expression on her face made his heart skip a beat. She seemed. . . content as she slept. Her were lips set in a peaceful smile and would occasionally twitch even larger. He guessed with a laugh that she was dreaming something good.

His mind betrayed him, seeing the beautiful princess in a different light for once. Almost the entire time, he had seen her as only a really good friend. She was just Hinata. She cooked delicious meals that she brought for him sometimes, and was the first to always to be at his side when he hurt himself during training. Every time she showed him kindness he always just wrote it off as being a teammate. He was always so engrossed in his desire, his need to become stronger, that he never once looked at anything else. But now that they were alone and his thoughts were free of anything else, he saw the girl in a different light. Or, with what little light there was.

Her bang fell over her cheek as she rolled slightly and it rested on her nose, it seemed to tickle her as her nose twitched again every few seconds. Without realizing it, he reached over and brushed the hair gently behind her ear. Then, noticing what he did, he snatched back his hand quickly and felt the cold completely leave him as his face went red. Even still, he couldn't help but look at his hand. _She was really soft and warm. . ._

His mind continued it's mutiny, but he started to wonder if it was his mind that was revealing the Hyuuga heiress – noticing all her beauty, or his heart. The confusion led to a silence within him though, so instead of confounding it he kept watching over the girl. A smile graced his face as he watched her and what had to be the cutest smile.

The darkness seemed to become less dark, and the sounds became muted. The cold was replaced by a strange warmth in his heart that seemed to spread through him. By the time he cared to glance back at his watch, he had been awake through both his and Hinata's watch. Sheepishly, he woke up Shino and said he let Hinata sleep through because of how hard she worked the day before. While it was a lie, he admitted if he had thought of it before, he would of let her sleep for that too.

That night, his nightmare didn't plague him and was replaced with something much more pleasant.

Two days later, they still hadn't bumped into another team. After a small discussion, they decided that it was time to stop acting defensively and begin hunting. They also had to keep aware of the chunin team that would of started their own hunt the day before.

Cursing as he jumped off a branch that broke as soon as he stepped on it, Naruto was glad it broke as he jumped. He'd been less lucky before, and falling twenty feet wasn't fun. His musing was cut short by a warning from Hinata.

"There's a team straight ahead of us! It looks like they've made camp!" Hinata announced, her voice rigid and straightforward.

"Let's drop then." Shino suggested, which was quickly done as they all landed behind a large tree. He already began to send his bugs out, keeping them low to the ground and moving silently.

"Can you tell who they are Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling excited at getting some action in after such a long time in the forest with nothing to do besides constantly being on edge.

Feeling the head rush that came with using the byakugan, she focused in on the area as she felt her vision leave it's normal constraints and zoom in onto the camp almost half-a-mile ahead. Concentrating, she almost lost it as she made out the team clearly. "I-It's my cousin N-Neji and his team!"

"Do you know their team very well?" Naruto asked, noticing the fear that sounded foreign in her voice as she referenced to her cousin. Then, his mind finally pulled forth the reason that she sounded so scared. "Wait, was this the same cousin that beat you up in that spar?"

Hinata only nodded slowly, not wanting to admit it, even though he already knew.

Figuring what he was already thinking, Shino extended his arm in front of him. "We need to know more about the team, if their makeup is superior to ours, we'll be walking into a bad situation. Now, what else do you know about the team Hinata?"

Swallowing her previous feelings, she tried to remember anything about the other two members. "W-Well, he doesn't talk much about them a-and they've never been over b-but, I think the other two members are Tenten and Rock Lee. I-I'm pretty sure that Tenten is a weapons expert and Lee is a t-taijutsu specialist."

Shino furrowed his brow, as he started to think. "It could prove problematic, but their team isn't much different than our own. We might be evenly matched, if we decided to attack them. Although I think we shouldn't initiate anything against fellow leaf shinobi."

"What?" Naruto harshly whispered, "Konoha shinobi or no, I got a few things to say to that bastard cousin of hers!"

"Even more of a reason why we shouldn't, we can't have you losing it like that. This is way to personal."

"Uhm. . . N-Naruto-kun, I think Shino-kun is r-right, I-I'm nowhere near as g-good as Neji. I'd only be in the way." Hinata mumbled, eyes downcast.

"Stop that Hinata, your way better than that asshole." Naruto replied, wanting more and more to attack this bastard and beat him into the dirt.

"Okay, alliances aside, they're still more experienced than us and thus most likely more skilled. It would be better to try and fight someone our skill level." Shino spoke, steadfast in his opinion to find another team.

Naruto growled, his anger and want for vengeance overtaking any rational thought. Before he could bring up another point though, he heard Hinata let out a horrified gasp.

"T-Too late! N-Neji's sees us!" Neji had activated his byakugan quicker than she thought possible and smirked as he looked directly at her. But to the timid girl, felt more like it was directly into her.

Shino cursed and began to order his bugs to get closer to the campsite ahead while Naruto only grinned. Thanking God for the chance, he shot up and charged towards the camp.

"Naruto get back here!" Shino yelled out, exasperated. It was too late though, the only course left was to go with him.

Hinata whimpered, but knew she couldn't – _wouldn't _leave Naruto alone to face her cousin. 

Breaking the tree line, Naruto landed about thirty feet away from the other team, all who were already up and standing behind their Hyuuga teammate looking ready to defend themselves. The rest of Team Eight soon trailed in behind.

For a moment, it was like a scene out of the samurai movies the blonde had watched before. Both teams stood silently, looking at each other intently to see who would pull the trigger first.

The first one to step forward and speak was Rock Lee. He had black hair, cut into a bowl style with large eyebrows that rested atop burning intense eyes. What made even more of a announcement than his hairstyle was the green full-body spandex suit. "It seems you are fellow Konoha ninja, as such I will extend the courtesy of conversation and ask you announce your intentions!" he yelled.

"We mean no harm. We were just hiding out in the bushes back there trying to decide whether or not we should try and sneak around or make ourselves known." Shino replied, being the first to speak. He hoped to diffuse the situation that Naruto had put them in.

"Judging by the glare your friend here is giving me, he doesn't appear to agree with you." Neji said, referring to Naruto who was trying to turn his gaze into a weapon and pierce the Hyuuga genius.

"That's because you're the one who hurt Hinata-chan so badly she had to get hospitalized! I can't forgive you for that!" Naruto screamed, hoping that even a fraction of his rage was getting through to the bastard across from him.

Tenten and Lee made sideways glances at each other, they had heard of Neji's brutality towards the girl because of her station, but they had somewhat overlooked and denied it. "Even so, if you fight one of us, you fight us all. Neji is my teammate and I must protect him." Lee replied to the boy, moving into a fighting stance to drive home the point he was prepared to fight if needed.

Scowling, Naruto knew that if he attacked Neji, he'd be putting his team in danger because he wanted revenge for Hinata. ". . .fine. We'll leave."

Shino let out a breath of relief, glad that was taken care of. Hinata was glad too, happy she wouldn't have to fight her cousin. As they turned the leave however, they were stopped.

"Who said we were going to let you go?" Neji asked, his smirk still on his face.

"Uh, Neji?" Tenten asked, finally speaking up. Just what was her teammate planning?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded, his tone dangerous.

"It's obvious that you don't want to fight us, quite wise of you. We're your senior by one year, our team could defeat you easily." Neji spoke his tone arrogant and full of pride. Before Naruto could retort however, he continued, "So, I present an ultimatum. We can either fight all out and you can lose your scroll, possibly more." He let the suggestion hang in the air before speaking again, "Or, Hinata and I can fight, and decide who gets the scroll by who wins."

Hinata's face broke from it's nervous look and straight into full fear. Naruto however, jumped forward. "What the hell kind of choice is that!"

"It's your choice."

Naruto growled, but knew that no matter what, it looks like they were in for a fight.

Shino cursed under his breath, once again wishing Naruto wasn't so hotheaded. "Give us a moment would you?" he asked rhetorically, as he had already gathered his team in a huddle.

"Listen," he whispered, "there's no way we can get out of this one. We can try to run, but they'd catch us eventually because of the byakugan. We have to decide."

"I say we just beat the crap out of 'em and be done before dinner time!" Naruto replied, not even knowing why they were having this conversation.

"We have to choose carefully, he made it pretty clear he's playing for keeps if we enter into an all out fight."

"And he won't do the same with Hinata?"

"If we let them fight, and it looks like he's going to go for the final blow we can intervene. Then, the only one able to track us would be winded and tired from the fight and we'd have a better chance of escaping."

Naruto knew the other boy's suggestion held logic. Cold, hard logic that didn't include how bad Hinata could get hurt.

Having not said anything, Hinata listened with wavering will. She was teetering between bravery and wanting to just run. She knew what her cousin was capable of and that no matter how much she had improved over the past month training with Naruto it would still be an uneven fight. But, if it came between putting her friend and crush in danger or herself, the choice seemed clear.

The two continued to argue until Hinata finally spoke up. "I-I'll do it."

Though silent and timid, the boys heard her clearly. "You, what?" Naruto replied, not thinking he heard her correctly.

Clearing her throat and looking him in his eyes, she repeated herself. "I'll do it. Let me fight my cousin." She spoke clearly, and smiled as she saw the concern burning in Naruto's blue eyes.

"Hinata. . ." Naruto whispered, not knowing what to say.

"It's our best choice Naruto. If he goes too far you have my permission to chop off his head." Shino added, not joking in the least bit.

Stifling a laugh, Naruto wanted to berate the boy for making light of the situation. "Fine."

Hinata nodded at their approval, and dug deep within herself. Turning towards her still arrogant looking cousin she took a step forward. "Neji-neesan, I will fight you."

"I see, we'll fight in five minutes, I suggest you warm-up." Neji replied, then turned back towards his team and started warming up himself.

Hinata nodded and let out a shaky breath before starting to warm up.

Five minutes later, the two Hyuuga's stood ten feet away from each other, staring each other in the eyes. It was a clash as old as the Hyuuga family itself. A constant struggle between the Main branch and Side branch.

Old hatred fueled Neji as he could only think of his father and the fate that befell him. He had waiting for a moment like this, where he could fight without rules and without the Main branch watching his every move. Mercy would not be part of this fight. The Main branch would be made to pay.

Hinata was struggling with her insecurity, trying to repeat to herself that she could do this, that she can win. As much as she loved her cousin, she knew deep in her heart that he hated her and liked to fight her. Then, she felt a warm hand clasp her shoulder. Turning, surprised, she saw Naruto's smiling face. "Don't worry Hinata-chan. I'll be watching, you'll be okay – I promise!"

She felt her cheeks light up as she nodded. "T-Thank you Naruto-kun." Looking back forward, she felt her heart beat faster and spread the warmth that she could only describe as love fill her veins. "Neji-neesan! I will defeat you!" then, with a even deeper blush and smile she added, "Believe it!"

Woo, another chapter down! I'm so glad to see my normal reviewers return! Thank you all for your patience and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I hope to get the next one out as fast as I did this one! As always reviews fuel me to write! I'll be hitting the refresh button every hour when I wake up tomorrow lol!

Oh, and as a side note, snakes REALLY DO taste like chicken!


	10. Chapter 10

Quick note, I just want to say THANK YOU! I passed the 100 review mark last chapter! I'm very grateful to everyone who reviews every chapter, my audience is the reason I continue to write this. With every chapter I write, you help me realize my dream of becoming a professional author. So I dedicate this chapter to my readers.

EDITED. I regretfully admit that I am an idiot and was having Hinata call Neji 'neesan.' Which, in a moment of ignorance, I remembered being the japanese word for brother. After many reviewers told me otherwise, I edited my mistakes. If I missed any, I do apolgize and will catch them when I can. Which brings me to another point. BETA reading is for winners!

The fight hit full throttle as soon as one twitched. The two Hyuugas hit each other with the force of a tornado. Their feet stayed mostly still once the fight began, the only footwork was made to pivot or back up from an attack. They bent and twisted, arms reaching out to try and attack what seemed to be vulnerable tenketsu points that only they could see. Small explosions of pure blue chakra erupted from palms and fingertips as they hit their mark. Grunts and yells were the only sound that could be made out between the shifting dirt under their feet and the sound of the chakra explosions.

Naruto and Shino watched with baited breath, both focusing keenly on the fight. Both were ready to jump in at any time should the fight turn south for their teammate.

Naruto had faith in her, he remembered how hard she fought and trained when not feeling any pressure or self-doubt. He knew that she could beat her cousin, if only she could let go of old memories that slowed her jabs and left her open for counterattacks. He winced, every time he was able to make out a clear hit. But, even though he knew she was struggling with fear, he definitely saw she was almost staying even with connecting blows. Not being able to bite his tongue anymore, he hoped she wouldn't lose concentration. "C'mon Hinata-chan! I know you got this, I've seen how good of a fighter you are! _Kick. His. ASS!" _he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth, trying to do anything to get his message across.

Even though she was in a fight for her life, Hinata was smiling. Her first love was watching her every move and had his complete attention locked onto her fight. He was even encouraging her! If she could spare the breath and lack of focus she would be crying pure joy. Her heart swelled and she lunged forward with a loud cry of confidence.

Across the way, Rock Lee clenched his fists and jumped in the air. Landing, he thrust out his arm and extended his thumb in what could only be described as a good guy way. "YOSH! Neji-san I know you can defeat her if you let your flames of youth burn brightly!"

"Lee shut up!" Neji quickly retorted, barely dodging a strike that would of hit his right eye. _This isn't the same girl I've fought in the past, she's grown stronger! I cannot lose! _He screamed in his mind, pure rage fueling his attacks. "I won't lose to the Main branch! It is my destiny to win!"

_His destiny. . ._ Hinata mused, as she could remember how he'd said similar things in the past. When he had last utterly humiliated and pummeled her into submission, he told her it was her destiny to never defeat him. That she was weak and unfit for the Hyuuga name, much less the position of heiress.

To be honest with herself, she didn't want the name nor the position. The Hyuuga name meant, 'towards the sun'. It was a majestic name that implied superiority and grace. Her clan certainly had those, but they were also clouded by undue pride and arrogance that corrupted any big headed shinobi with the name.

At nights, after her father had finished with his usual slandering of her being, or being snubbed by the clan council, her heart was filled with hate for her clan. It was a dirty, ugly thing, that she tried to hide from everyone but she couldn't help it. Her clan was nothing more than a bunch of _bastards _that hated her and always told her she was useless and unworthy. This feeling was deeply locked away for a good reason. All it did when she thought of it was eat her up inside. The hate, the anger, it wasn't her. It was the Hinata Hyuuga that her father made, and the Hinata Hyuuga that she shunned and repressed.

With a gasp, she dodged another clever counterattack that had hid behind a feint that was intended to make her think he left himself open. She knew that her entire focus had to be on the fight, but she couldn't help but look into her cousin's eyes and see the hate and pain that was directed towards her.

She knew the story, his father had been used as a double to save her father's life, as they were twins, when he had killed a Kumo shinobi that tried to kidnap her. Kumogakure demanded that her father was to be executed and his head sent to them for killing one of their shinobi. They had no way to prove that their delegate had been actually sent there to kidnap the heiress, so they had little choice unless they wanted to start a war.

She felt horrible for him, losing his father like that, from what she could remember, Hizashi Hyuuga was a kind and good man – the polar opposite of her father. She knew that he blamed her for it, and in a twisted way it made sense. Which is exactly why she had tolerated for so long the constant abuse and anger Neji showed. The prodigy was trapped by the Caged Bird Seal that could end his life at any second should any Main branch member feel he deserved it.

And she was the only person who he could safely take his anger and frustration out on. Sweet Hinata, who would always try to be understanding and never speak up over his harsh words or brutal treatment in sparring. Sweet Hinata didn't work, so now she'd try getting her message across by force.

Feeling spurred on by this, she felt something within unlock as her senses keened and began attacking faster and more precise as her anger began to finally manifest outside the dark recesses of her heart. Screaming a battle cry, she _shoved _two fingers into the tenketsu point that rested where the left arm met the shoulder.

Neji cried out in anguish, feeling the tenketsu point almost implode from how much chakra was forced into it as it shut down. It didn't help feeling the sharp pain from the jab he got either. Instantly, his left arm arm dropped and was now dead weight as the chakra flow was cut off to that arm. He had to do something quickly or he would lose.

Behind him, his female teammate Tenten, watched nervously. Biting her lip she reached down as slow and quiet as she could to pull out a kunai. At the beginning of the fight, she was sure that the Hinata Neji spoke of at times would be no match for him. But, from what she was witnessing, that was not the case. Feeling the hard steel of the kunai within the safety of her pack behind her, she pulled it out.

While it was hard to say to herself, she knew how strongly she felt for her Hyuuga teammate. He could be cold, stoic and sometimes depressing. But, she saw a side of him that no one else did. She knew he was a tortured soul that only wanted love and peace, but he didn't think he could obtain it any other way than violence. She had dropped hints before of her attraction to the boy, but either her attempts weren't good enough or the boy wasn't interested. Regardless of that, she would protect him at any cost if Hinata tried to kill him. Honor could take a back seat compared to her feelings.

Lee never took his eyes off the fight, but he could recognize Tenten trying to get her kunai through his peripherals. He knitted his brows as he knew what she must be thinking. He wasn't blind or dumb as some people labeled him. The girl loved Neji; a plus of being a genius, Lee supposed, you become somewhat of a girl magnet.

To Lee, Neji was more than a teammate, he was a rival and friend, even if they were both one-sided. He would protect him just as fiercely as the weapons expert would but, he wasn't blinded by love. He knew very well what Neji's hate and rage veiled. If he could, he knew that Neji would try to kill the girl. That was what Lee was waiting for and keeping a vigilant watch on. While he may not know the girl, nothing good could come of killing someone like that.

Getting hit three more times, Neji knew he had to do something and quick. He had an ace up his sleeve, one that he'd been working on and yet to perfect. In this instance however, he had little choice but to try it or he might lose this fight. For a split second, the world froze as he concentrated his chakra starting from his center. Then, in one blazing moment, he spun. "Hyuuga Style! Kaiten no Jutsu!"

Hinata only had a moment to recognize the technique and could only stare in disbelief. She was too close, and had no way to avoid it as she felt herself get slammed backwards. The heiress sailed through the air coming to an abrupt stop against a tree fifty feet away.

Naruto could only look on in silent disbelief as he watched Hinata getting the upper hand on her opponent when suddenly Neji began rotating at high speed and a pure chakra sphere shot out and expanded from him at an alarming rate. It stopped two feet away from him and continued to exist until Neji stopped his spin leaving a crater in the ground. Naruto didn't witness the last bit however, as he was already running as fast as he could to the side of his female teammate who was already starting to stagger to her feet.

The blow she felt was tremendous as pain exploded in her skull from where she hit it against the hard bark of the tree. Her world was spinning and she wanted nothing more than to stay on her back until the pain went away. Unfortunately, this wasn't an option for the girl. She felt her body protest when as she slowly tried climbing to her feet. Gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain and finally stood. She was rewarded by her blonde teammate rushing to her.

"Hinata! Hinata! Are you okay?" Naruto yelled as he arrived at her side. He barely noticed Shino as the bug user came to rest against her other side.

Conjuring up a smile, Hinata looked up at him as she steadied herself. "Y-Yes, Naruto-kun. I. . . I actually feel better than I have in a long time." She spoke, no evidence of her stutter apparent in her speech, only the pain she felt made her words unsteady. The feeling of fighting one of her tormentors was liberating.

"You are sure Hinata? That blow to head doesn't look good." Shino added, his head tilted as he noticed with a worried glance that her usual shining lavender hair was darkened in the back.

To be honest, she felt a little woozy, but it wasn't something Naruto would let stop him. So she'd be damned if she stopped too. "Yes, thank you for the concern though Shino." She replied as she quickly pushed off her planted foot and staggered towards Neji.

Naruto had to bite his tongue, almost telling her it was stupid to go on and to just let him and Shino take care of it. But, he knew she was a shinobi too and even more important, this was a personal fight for her that she needed to resolve. "Hinata, we're both rooting for you! You got this, I know you do!"

Neji smiled, feeling pride at being able to preform the Kaiten under pressure. He also noted it had a secondary effect of clearing his arm's blocked tenketsu thanks to the very technique. It required expelling a large, steady amount of chakra from ever tenketsu and making it solid by spinning at full speed. It was the perfect defense and thanks to the byakugan's enhanced sight, he could keep his vision straight and steady as he spun.

The only downside being that he exerted far too much chakra in the technique and was now dangerously low. He could also feel his tenketsu scream in pain as they all just basically gave birth. Panting, he fell back into the gentle fist style, knowing he couldn't show any of this. Morale was half the fight, after all.

Reaching an optimal distance, Hinata matched Neji's stance as she stared him in eye. She smiled, seeing something in them that she never saw before. If she had to guess, it was some small form of respect. "Neji-niisan, if you want, we can stop now and both walk away." She offered, knowing it would probably only serve to provoke him. But she didn't want to hurt him, scroll or no.

Neji gritted his teeth as he took her offer the wrong way. "Never! I'll never submit to you! The weakest shinobi of our clan will never defeat me!" he yelled, shoving off his planted foot as he lunged forth aiming for her heart.

Hinata only frowned, seeing he still hadn't changed. Slapping his hand to the side, she countered with quick jab to the tenketsu above his right lung, then while he was momentarily stunned, slammed her left palm into the area directly above his left eye.

Neji jumped back in full retreat as he cried out being blinded in his left eye. Having the chakra cut off as fast as it did to his eye not only canceled his byakugan but caused his vision to shut out in the eye. He'd been struck there before, the blindness was only temporary.

She didn't let up, not giving the boy a moment to reactivate his bloodline, if she was going to win it had to be now.

He cursed, as he barely dodged a palm strike to his arm. _Is she taunting me? She could of killed me I was so open the last hit! How dare she! _Roaring in rage, he thrust his arm out, letting himself get hit in the arm and unleashed a full jyuuken strike charged with as much chakra as he could directly at her chest.

She could only watch in horror as it passed by her defense and hit her dead on. Immediately she vomited up blood as it flew from her mouth and covered the boy's shirt. Neji stopped, momentarily shocked at hitting her.

"HINATA!" Naruto and Shino both cried out. Naruto tried to run to her, but was stopped by Shino as the bug user grasped him by the wrist. "Let go of me – !" he started.

"Wait, she's not out yet." Shino replied, the pain from seeing his friend hurt evident in his voice. But it was true, as he watched the princess reach out and grab Neji's wrist.

For whatever reason, he didn't pull away as she grabbed him. "N. . .Neji-niisan?" she asked, a small trickle of blood running out the corner of her mouth.

"Y-Yes?" he replied, wondering why it was his voice was shaky. He had wanted this, to show the Main branch just how powerful a Side branch member could be.

"Is this. . . Is this what you needed?" she asked, feeling her voice start to slip. She pressed his hand against her chest, firmly keeping it above her heart.

"Wha – what are you saying?" Neji replied, not expecting those words to come out her mouth. He stared at his hand confused, trying to figure out what she was getting at. After a moment, he understood as he felt her heartbeat growing fainter. _Did I. . .did I kill her? _His mental voice was subdued and almost regretful. But, that wouldn't make sense. . . he wanted this! Didn't he?

"Did this f-finally –!" She had to stop as she vomited more of her precious blood. Wiping her mouth, she looked back up to Neji as if she never had stopped. "Did this finally help you lose your hate? They. . . they're not deserving of such attention. You need to . . . live your life, niisan." She finished, meaning every word._ So much for using force, heh. _She laughed in her head. Seeing his troubled expression, she hoped her next move would be enough.

Neji couldn't believe what she was saying. All this time he had hated her with a violent passion, now why did he feel such horror at what he had done? Then, as if his subconscious took on a life of its own, it spoke: _You didn't hate her, you hated the Main branch. She was just the only member of the Main branch that would take your shit and was allowed to get the shit beat out of her. You've seen it before, how they look at her. She's in just a bad situation as you. At least your father loved you and the Side branch welcomes and accepts you. She gets no such treatment except from the kinder Side branch members. _

In the moment he was lost in his thoughts, he barely registered the princess letting go of his hand and then moved against him. Wrapping her arms around him, she embraced him in a weak hug. "Please. . . Neji-niisan. Don't hate. . .me." She whispered.

_Don't hate me. . ._ he thought. He remembered hearing those very words from her when she was only six years old. He had been bullying her and made her cry out in the gardens. Between tears, she looked up at him with red eyes and even redder cheeks. _Please neesan, don't hate me! _He had only glared at her and walked away, listening to her crying.

Now, he heard the same words from her again, only now she was bleeding and even dieing. With hesitation, he brought his arms up and weakly returned the hug. He felt a foreign tear fall down his cheek as he replied, "I. . . I don't hate you Hinata-sama. Please, forgive me."

Hinata let out a small laugh, as she heard the words she had wanted to for so long. "I-I'm happy. . ." was all she could utter before her world went dark.

For the second time, Team Eight screamed their teammates name and rushed over to her.

Neji was so out of it, from feeling her fail in his arms as she slowly slid out of his weak embrace. He didn't even mind it when he felt Naruto roughly shove him back as he scooped up the unconscious or dead girl into his arms.

When Naruto had seen the girl go limp and fall to her knees, he swore he felt his heart stop. Only Hinata needing their help is what kept Naruto from letting his anger take over and rip Neji apart. "Neji." He spoke, never tearing his gaze away from his teammate. "If she doesn't get better. . ." he turned his head towards the boy, and apparently shocked him. For his once cerulean eyes had now turned crimson. "_I. Will. KILL YOU." _He slowly and clearly pronounced each word.

Neji just nodded, wondering if he would even fight back. "Naruto," he started, as he reached back into his pouch.

The blonde narrowed his eyes, readying to defend himself as Shino started maneuvering his bugs closer to the other Hyuuga.

Not blaming them for their apprehension, Neji pulled out a brown scroll. "Take it." He threw the scroll to Shino who deftly caught it.

"Neji –!" Tenten started, feeling flabbergasted.

"She deserves that scroll. Please Naruto-san, take care of her." Neji quickly interrupted her.

Feeling confused at the boy's actions, he wondered if Hinata somehow changed him. Looking at the scroll he saw it was the one they needed. But, even still he couldn't forgive the boy yet. "I don't need you to tell me that. Let's go Shino."

Neji watched them disappear into the forest, his working eye staying onto the Hyuuga princess. He prayed she would recover. He still had many things to work out within himself, but he knew that he had to make up the many years of abuse she had to endure because of his hate.

"Neji, why did you do that? We needed that scroll! How are we going to get to the next exam?" Tenten asked, not as attached to the girl he was.

"Tenten-chan! Neji-san did the right thing! The young woman has obviously stoked his flames of youth to soaring new heights! Besides we can get back both scrolls easily!" Lee cried out, flashing his pearly whites and making the best good guy stance he could.

"For once, I agree with him." Neji mumbled.

Both of his teammates stared in disbelief, each for their own reasons.

"Let's go," Neji started, limping over to his team. "We need to make camp for the night, there's no way I can continue like this." Using all his remaining strength and will, he forced himself to jump onto a tall tree branch and start heading south.

"Yosh! The first one to find a suitable camp is the winner! GO!"

"Lee. . ." was all Tenten mumbled as she followed Neji.

Knowing it wasn't too far away, Naruto and Shino headed for the tree that they had spent the first night under. They needed to hide somewhere safe while they took care of Hinata.

Carrying the girl bridal style, Naruto tried to keep his focus on jumping from tree to tree, but found himself distracted. He was on overload with worry, as he kept glancing at her. To his relief, any indication of internal bleeding seemed to stop. Her breathing was steady and so was her pulse.

It didn't take long before they came upon the tree and with Shino's help, got Hinata through the crawlspace carefully. Taking out his canteen, Naruto wet a cotton ball, that was in a first aid kit he had in his back pack, and cleaned off the trails of blood that had seeped out at both ends of his lips. It took him a minute, as he feared if he pressed the cotton ball too hard he might break her. His hands started to shake, as he placed her head in his lap and looked to see if the head wound she had earlier was bleeding. It looked like it had clotted on its own and would be okay. Then, with a snap of his head he looked up towards Shino, hearing his name called.

"Naruto!" Shino repeated for the fifth time. He was almost to the point of shaking the blonde. Seeing him finally respond he continued. "Is she okay?"

Naruto nodded, "Yea, she isn't bleeding anymore. Do we have any medicine or something like that?" he asked, more or less grasping at straws, trying to find any thing to help Hinata.

"Reach into Hinata's pouch, if I remember right she carries around a homemade balm for cuts and bruises." Shino suggested, recalling his teammates expertise with herbs was to make medicine.

Searching the small pouch on her waist, Naruto pulled out the first round container he felt. It was a wooden lacquered container with a cherry blossom design on the top. Twisting it open, there was a creamy white substance inside that had the normal medicine smell to it. "This it?" he asked, seeing if the boy recognized it.

"Yes, you only need to use a little bit." Shino responded, remembering when the heiress had treated his wounds in the past.

Taking a small amount, he rubbed the balm onto the cut on the back of her head. Then, pushing up her jacket sleeves, he noticed bruises in an almost exact line up her arms. He repeated putting on a small amount of balm on each spot until he covered each bruise that he saw without touching her anywhere the boy inappropriate. Her arms already felt off limits, but he wanted to do what he could to help her.

Seeing he could do no more, he laid her down and sat beside her, keeping his troubled gaze on her. He knew he wouldn't be able to rest properly until she awoke. Taking off his jacket, he laid it over her to keep her warm.

Seeing the gesture, Shino pulled off his coat and folded it up to place under the girl's head to serve as a pillow. He felt exposed as soon as he did it, but didn't care, hoping Naruto wouldn't say anything.

Naruto, even though his thoughts only currently revolved around the princess, looked at Shino's bare arms. He could make out small discolored dots up both arms. If he had to guess, it was where the bugs left his body to attack. "It's not as bad as I thought it would look." Naruto spoke, knowing Shino would appreciate honesty more than anything.

Shino was pleasantly surprised, as he looked down at his arms. "Thank you, Naruto, that means a lot to me." He replied, smiling.

"Wow," Naruto laughed, scratching his cheek. "You should keep that jacket off more, it's nice to actually have some idea of what emotion you're feeling."

"If I wouldn't get chased out of every establishment in Konoha I would. It gets hot as hell in that thing during the summer." Shino replied, humor in his voice. As if to prove his point, a small bug pushed open the small discolored skin and scampered across his forearm, only to burrow back in another 'entrance'.

While he wasn't disgusted, Naruto understood why he'd be treated badly. "Well, I don't think it's that bad but, I have to ask – does that hurt?"

"The nerves are dead in those spots, I cant feel it when they leave me."

"Good." Was his awkward reply as he settled back against the wall.

"Should we forfeit?" Shino asked bluntly, knowing it had to be lingering in Naruto's mind too. When they had gone in to sign their waivers, they received a flare to be used if they needed emergency medical attention or wished to forfeit and be escorted out.

The question had been nagging at the back of the blonde's head since he had first seen Hinata pass out. If it came between Hinata's well being and completing the exam – scratch that, anything, she came first. But, it looked like she would pull through no problem and knew that if they forfeited because of this she would never forgive herself. "We should wait, I think. She looks like she'll be fine. But, if she even looks like she starts getting worse we will."

Shino nodded in agreement, Hinata was very special to him. While it wasn't love he felt, it was close. She had been the first person and girl who had ever accepted him outside of his family. All through the academy, the other kids were mostly nice to him, but whenever the discussion of his family's technique came to light he was shunned instantly. His family was extremely supportive of him, and told him that it was the unfortunate fate of the Aburame. They would never be widely accepted, only their friends, family, and fellow shinobi would accept them. Even then, not all shinobi were as understanding.

He could still remember the first day of training the original team had. Jin was practicing by himself, with Kurenai adding helpful hints. Shino sat by himself watching, and didn't notice as Hinata came to sit besides him. He had been surprised, even if he didn't show it. It had been the first time an outsider of his clan sat so close to him.

_"S-Shino right? M-My name's Hyuuga Hinata, w-would you mind if I ate my lunch with you?" _

Yes, he had responded. He still couldn't figure out though if his lack of vocabulary stemmed from his normal stoicism or shock. Contrary to popular belief, the Aburames weren't emotionless and uncaring. The reason for their neutral nature was because of their insects. Their hives were deeply connected with their being, tuned to their emotions and bodies condition. If their emotions ran wild, hitting any extreme, then the hive would respond in kind. The insects would vibrate and begin to move erratically through the paths they made in the hosts' body. Not only was it extremely annoying and as loud as fifteen exploding tags, it was dangerous to their health. If the insects got too out of control they could attack their own host. Although this was very rare.

_"I-I'm glad, I h-hope w-we can become f-friends?" she asked, stuttering worse than before. A blush creeped onto her cheeks, as she started poking her fingers together. _

Yes, was all he could respond again. She was his first friend and, he was a normal pre-teen too. It was the first pretty girl who talked to him, and he had been glad for once of his tall collar. Looking down at the girl, he found himself praying too. _Please, let her get better. _

Naruto refused to sleep, much to Shino's annoyance. The Aburame was worried too, but they needed the sleep. But, Naruto refused to take his eyes off her. After arguing with the blonde mule, he realized it was fruitless. For another day and a half, Hinata still showed no change and it was starting to worry them both to the point where Shino stopped sleeping. Naruto had finally fallen asleep around noon the day before, but only slept for two hours before he woke up cursing.

The boy's barely spoke, the most communication they shared was when they swore they heard another genin team treading nearby. They instantly regretted lacking the foresight to set up some perimeter traps around their hideout. Naruto kept vigil over Hinata, guarding her from the line of sight by the door. His greatsword drawn and ready to cleave whoever was foolish enough to enter. Shino was communicating with his bugs, trying to get a fix on their location.

After a tense three minutes, Shino went out and carefully scouted in a 50 meter radius, seeing if any trace of the team was left. He unfortunatly found it in the form of excrement behind a bush. Besides that, it seemed they had moved on.

After another day, around noon Hinata finally woke up.

_Why do I hurt. . ._ Hinata groaned in her mind, groaning out loud in unison. After the initial pounding headache however, she felt like she had slept a long time in a comfortable spot.

"Hinata?"

Opening her eyes, she almost wanted to gasp as she saw both her teammates hovering over. She blushed, wondering why.

"A-Are you okay!" Naruto exclaimed, the worry and anxiety he'd been holding in for two days exploding. He wanted to keep shooting off questions, but bit his tongue to let her answer one at a time.

She took a moment to think, what had happened to her? No sooner had she thought it she recalled a single sentence. _I don't hate you Hinata-sama. Please forgive me. _She almost cried, thinking back to it. She finally had her niisan back, finally had some semblance of family. "Yes, Naruto-kun, I'm okay." Then, her stomach disagreed with her, "and hungry." She sheepishly admitted.

Naruto felt like laughing he was so relieved. "Alright, I'll go see if I can't get some food. Shino?" he asked, silently posing if he could be okay alone.

"Go ahead."

Nodding, he took a long look at Hinata, drawing a deep blush from the girl. At that exact moment, Naruto could dance he was so excited.

After Naruto left, Hinata had finally noticed that both boys were lacking an article of clothing. Looking down, she almost felt like passing out again as she noticed Naruto's _jacket _was warming her. She also noticed with a sideways glance that Shino's coat was serving as a pillow. Looking over, she finally saw how it was that Shino's bug's exited his body.

Noticing her gaze, Shino almost felt like covering himself, feeling naked in front of the girl.

Seeing that her attention was making him uncomfortable, she spoke up. "I thought you would be more like Insectman."

"W-What?" Shino replied, completely caught off guard.

"I thought your insects came out like how Insectman shoots out his. From the wrists."

"You thought I was like a comic book character?"

Hinata nodded, feeling embarrassed. She hoped she didn't offended him, she was being honest. Then, she heard something she never heard before.

Shino couldn't believe it, it was so funny he did something he truly had only done three times; he laughed – hard. Doubling over, he held his sides and was almost to the point of tears.

Hinata started laughing a bit herself and sat up, clutching Naruto's jacket to herself. "You sound really good when you laugh, you should do it more Shino-kun."

Calming down, he smiled at her. "That's the second time I've heard something like that in the past two days."

Keeping the question to herself, she reached back over and grabbed his jacket. Handing it to Shino she replied, "I think you want this back right?"

Grabbing the jacket, he looked at it for a moment, then back to her. "I think I'll keep it off for a little bit longer."

And there's chapter ten! This chapter took a bit of a different turn than I had figured it would, but one thought rolled into another and this came to be. I wanted to explore the relationship between Hinata and Neji, I know a lot of people thought it was going to be a bloodbath, (which it kind of was), but I never 100% liked Kishimoto's handling of it. I wanted Hinata to be the one to convince Neji to become a different person, not Naruto.

I also ended up giving Shino a lot of air time too. I realized I had been keeping him on the back burner sometimes. I've always enjoyed his character in Naruto but he's never been explored to my memory nor has his clan's insect technique been explained. Mind you, I haven't seen the filler in Naruto so I don't know if they did or not. If I ever put something in that isn't right cannon-wise, it's because I either never saw it, or don't agree with it.

I kept Neji kinda muted on the whole destiny thing, I honestly couldn't think of any lines that would go with it, so I just decided to try and keep to his character while omitting that.

As always, thank you all for the reviews and keep it up! I'm shooting for the moon here. I hope to get Chapter 11 out just as fast! I hope you enjoyed!

Shinobi no Ryu


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! I'm glad you all liked how I portray Shino in my story. Your reviews were much kinder and encouraging than I had thought, so thanks! And, because I realize now that I didn't add it in my last author note at the end, Insectman was my pathetic play on words for Spiderman. Which I don't own. And yes, that means Hinata reads comic books, in my story anyways.

It was day six of the second exam. Hinata had finally woken up and they decided to wait the rest of the day before discussing what to do next. The girl still needed rest and Naruto was sleep deprived. On the sixth morning however, they had another problem: indecisiveness.

"I see your point Naruto," Shino started with a sigh, "But, statistically speaking we have a higher chance of getting caught if we stay here for another four days. Besides, we don't know how far away the tower is from here. It could take a day or two to reach the center."

"Yeah, but we have just as much a chance of getting caught running through the forest trying to find another sweet place like this." Naruto argued, putting his finger down into the ground as to prove his point.

Hinata looked on, having not added anything. She didn't really lean one way or the other. To be honest, all she could think of at the moment was how badly she wanted a cinnamon roll. Maybe even a whole plate of them.

Shino dropped his head in resignation. "This is getting us _nowhere._"

"Good," Naruto replied with a cocky grin, "then that just means my plan is the one we're going with!" he ended it with a laugh.

"You're lucky my kikai bugs don't like your chakra."

Naruto stopped laughing and saw Shino had a serious look on his face. Ever since he stopped zipping up his coat, he saw that the boy had a scary mean face. Grumbling out an answer he turned his head.

For the next few moments silence reigned in the small hole they had called home for the past few days. The only prevailing sound was Hinata's stomach as it let out petite growls, all thanks to the girl's vivid imagination. She almost started to drool as she thought of eating those warm, golden brown, lightly iced, cinnamon rolls.

Naruto, finally noticing the dreamy, far-off look Hinata had, spoke up, "Uh. . .you okay there Hinata-chan?"

"Cinnamon rolls. . ." she mumbled, delirious. Her daydream had taken it to the next step, as she imagined a chibi Naruto dressed as a chef, struggling to deliver a huge plate of her baked desire.

Naruto hadn't heard her, however, and was about to ask again when Shino interrupted him.

"Shh!" he harshly whispered. It seemed to knock Hinata out of her heaven and back to life as she looked around.

Naruto listened intently, his shinobi instincts kicking in. He strained his hearing as he tried to listen for any sound out of the ordinary. He could acutely hear the sounds of the forest, from the wind gently bending grass and the leaves dancing about. The sound of insects however, was missing. "Something bad is outside."

"Hinata." Shino whispered, knowing she'd know what he wanted.

The girl nodded, activating her bloodline limit. She felt the sensation of the chakra veins around her eyes bulge and her eyesight was no longer limited to normal bounds. The tree they sat under became translucent, as she saw all the insects that made the inside of the tree their home. For a moment, she watched them as they seemed content within their home, she wondered if they were even aware of their presence under them. But, just as quickly she noticed three adults, all studying the area around their tree. One of which, had a very noticeable scar.

Letting out a gasp, she exclaimed "It's I-Iruka-sensei!"

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto repeated, knowing what his presence in the forest could only mean.

"Looks like there's a chunin hunting team at our door." Shino replied solemnly. While genin teams may be easy to fool, their senses not trained enough to check a place such as the one they hid, chunins wouldn't be so easy to fool.

"We have to decide now." Shino started, looking towards his team. "Either stay and hope they don't find us or make a break for it."

Naruto bit his lip as he knew the Aburame was right. "If we stay and they find us we're sitting ducks. I hate to say it," he started knowing it was as good as giving the other boy permission to say _I told you so, _"but we have to run, and I have a good idea as to how."

Outside, Iruka sighed, wondering who he pissed off to get stuck in this forest. He hated the damn place and was glad he had taken the exams in Kusagakure. He glanced back at his two teammates, Seiji and Kintaro, two low-profile chunin who wore just the basic outfit. He had talked to them over the past three days they had been stuck in the forest, they both seemed like nice guys if not boring.

So far, they had only actually been able to steal scrolls from a Kumo team that they caught sleeping out in the open. He hadn't even bothered with waking them up. Their packs were all in a pile by their smoldering camp fire. Searching them, he was able to easily find the scrolls and left. It was sad.

Now, after two fruitless days, he had come upon a suspicious looking hole under a tree root. If he was looking for a hiding place, he would hide under there. So, that led them to where the were now. Hiding behind a bush, he watched the hole with the concentration of a hawk as he waited to see any movement.

"Why don't we just throw a smoke grenade in there and see if something comes out?" Seiji suggested, sounding bored.

Iruka sighed, half out of exasperation and half out of irritation. Seiji had been suggesting such things since they had started. His approach to the handling of these genin was far too excessive. Or, maybe he had been a teacher too long. "Because, if the hole is very small then the resulting explosion could seriously injure them. Not to mention they could suffocate if they don't get out fast enough. Those smoke bombs pump out too much smoke too fast for small spaces."

"Gah, then can we _at least _go in after them?" Seiji asked, not hiding his displeasure of Iruka's leadership.

"I think that would be a bad idea," Kintaro spoke up, "That hole would be cramped enough with three genin in it, that would be like trying to stick your hand down a snake hole in hopes of capturing it. You'd get bit for sure."

"Fine, fine, whatever. Just let me know when -"

Seiji was cut off mid-rant by Iruka's warning gasp as three white cloth wrapped balls flew from the hole and exploded. _Shit! _Iruka thought as his eardrums exploded from getting a flash bomb in his face. He had the presence of mind however, to shut his eyes and when he opened them again he was greeted by a large wall of smoke. "Smokescreen! They're trying to escape!" Iruka shouted, not being able to hear himself, but wondered if the others could.

Jumping through the smokescreen with a kunai drawn, Iruka thought he was ready for anything. He was wrong. By the time he had navigated straight through the smoke, he was on the right side of the tree. He was greeted by the sight of as many Kage Bunshin as he had seen the night Mizuki had been captured.

With a collected grin on almost one-thousand Naruto faces, they all exclaimed, "Good morning Iruka-sensei!" Then, their grins turn sadistic, "Prepare yourself for the second forbidden technique!" They all closed their eyes and put their hands in the sign for tiger.

"**UZUMAKI FORBIDDEN ART: FULL MOON OF A THOUSAND NIGHTS**!"

Iruka felt his jaw hit the floor and fear creeped into his being as they all turned and dropped their trousers.

"Nya nya ny-nya nya!" They cried, slapping their exposed butts making a large echo. "Catch us if you can!" Then, they all dispersed throughout the forest.

The only feeling Iruka had was his eye, as he felt it start to twitch. Then, a gigantic vein bulged in his forehead as he prepared the special teacher jutsu. "_NARUTO! YOU BETTER KEEP RUNNING!" _

Naruto couldn't help himself but laugh as the familiar shock of a clone's memory hit him. Seeing the pure rage on Iruka's face, one that he had evoked before, brought back good memories of what seemed ages ago.

"Is the plan working?" Shino asked, wondering if it could deter a chunin. After throwing out the bombs, Naruto created his clones and led his team through some bushes and after being out of eye shot, took to the trees.

"I think the clone was destroyed north west of the tree. If so, he's heading in the -" Naruto started, before being cutoff by another memory slamming into his brain. "Okay, I recognized that river, he's heading south now. We should be fine."

"Good, I would hate to f-fight Iruka-sensei." Hinata replied with a relieved sigh. She viewed the almost as family. He had been very kind to her in the academy and he was always available to talk to about anything she needed. He had been the only person she'd ever confided to about her family life.

After the Iruka event, Naruto finally conceded and agreed with Shino to keep moving for the next four days. From fallen, hollowed out trees, to caves hidden in ravines, Team Eight made camp. During the days they would travel through the forest avoiding any other teams. On the ninth afternoon, they came upon a clearing that would bring nightmares to Hinata for nights to come.

"My God. . ." Hinata whispered as her eyes were locked onto the center of the clearing.

Naruto grimaced as he looked at the three dead leaf genin, all who had their bodies twisted and mangled. One male genin had his left side completely caved in, his organs spilling onto the sand. The gruesome kill had been made a day or two before, judging of the color of the blood and smell. Evidence of animals feasting on the corpses was evident too, seeing chunks missing from the bodies.

"Whoever did this must have had some form of rock ninjutsu." Shino spoke, his own frown clear. Since his teammates acceptance of his body, he kept his jacket on, but left it unzipped showing his face and black muscle shirt underneath.

Noticing her locked gaze, Naruto walked over to Hinata and offered his arm. Either out of wanting to bury the memory or not pass up an opportunity, she threw herself into his chest and clenched her eyes shut. "Whoever did this is fucked up." Naruto replied, his face set into an experience scowl that showed memories of similar events. It came from not only the ill-fated wave mission, but also his dreams. In his opinion, he'd seen worse. But not by much.

"Wait here Hinata-chan." Naruto spoke solemnly.

Hinata looked up at her crush and nodded, moving out of his embrace and kept her gaze from the clearing.

Shino watched Naruto as he moved into the clearing and walked to one of the corpses. After searching two of the corpses, he got to the third one, which was the worst and pulled out two objects. One was the team's flare and the other being an earth scroll. The latter troubled the boy. _Whoever did this, didn't do it for the scroll. I would hate to think it but . . . whoever did this, did it just to kill. _

Naruto pointed the flare towards an opening in the canopy and shot it, seeing a green flare fly into the sky. Walking back over to his team, he pointed towards the tree line. "They deserve a proper burial, instead of being devoured by the forests animals. Let's get going before any proctors show up."

The group quickly followed after Naruto, glad to be away from the area.

Naruto kept his glare locked onto the scroll. His thoughts mirrored Shino's. _This wasn't a team killing another team in necessity for a scroll. It could have been just another team defending themselves but. . .I can't help but feel something wrong. _It sounded weird even to himself but, after the Kyuubi had become aware, he swore he could _feel _evil or bad energy. Sometimes he would just pass over an area and feel a cold chill run up his spine. This time, it had been more than just his spine, he felt it in his entire body.

The rest of the day had passed in relative silence. That night, Naruto realized he had yet to tell Shino about his team and why he was on their team. While he had reservations about telling the Aburame, he considered him a friend and knew he deserved to know. After telling him the whole story, he was surprised at how fast Shino had replied.

"I supposed it was something like that. It's not often an entire team quits. For what it's worth, you have my condolences." 

It made it much easier for Naruto to fall asleep that night.

On the tenth day, Team Eight rushed for the center of the forest. Naruto was in a bad mood that day because his a nightmare of his team plagued his sleep, seeming to react to the gruesome murder of the Konoha team they came across. Hinata had noticed a difference in his behavior in an instant. Shino noticed something off too, but decided against saying anything believing everyone was entitled to a bad morning once in a while.

With the help of Hinata's byakugan, they were able to find the tower easily and arrived ten minutes before noon.

"Should we just wait by the door?" Hinata asked, knowing it may not be the best idea. She had been worrying about the murdered team since yesterday. All she could think about was the various slasher movies she'd seen before. It always started with finding dead bodies in the forest.

"We should be okay." Shino replied, figuring that even if they did get in a fight they would only have to for a few minutes.

"I agree, let's just wait." Naruto added. He was still in a bit of bad mood, mainly because of his nightmare, but also because he couldn't get the face of the half-crushed genin out of his mind. Of what friends and family would feel upon hearing his death in test. While death was an expected outcome of the shinobi line of work, it still came as a shock. More than most if the circumstances were like this. Naruto wanted to find the bastard team that killed them and get vengeance.

To Team Eight's surprise the first team to get to the tower after them was Team Ten. Hinata couldn't help but smile as she saw Neji clear the tree line and land almost twenty feet away from them. Deciding to take a chance, she swallowed her doubt, "N-Neji-niisan!" she yelled out, waving.

Neji looked over with his normal indifferent glance, making the princess heart sag. But, it was soon replaced with a smile as he walked over. "Hinata-sama, I. . .I am glad to see you looking better, I hope you don't have any lasting injuries?" he asked, noting the _try-something-and-get-fucked _look Naruto was giving him.

Hinata shook her head, exploding with joy in her heart as she finally had her niisan. "No, I'm fine thanks to Naruto-kun and Shino-kun."

Looking up to the boys, he bowed to them. "I apologize for my behavior the other day. Thank you for helping Hinata-sama."

Naruto bit his tongue as he stifled a smart remark. Something about the Hyuuga boy told him he'd changed in some way. He supposed he could give him a chance. "Of course."

At exactly noon, both teams were able to pass through the door that had unlocked. A small puzzle awaited, which Lee solved. It required unrolling both scrolls and laying them across each other. By doing that, it summoned a proctor to escort the team to the next area.

They were led to a large stadium like chamber, with a gigantic carving of a hands in a seal. Along the walls were singular catwalks and stairs which allowed one to climb to them. Although, for most ninja this wasn't needed.

Teams started to file in over the next two hours. Naruto was happy to see that the majority of the teams were from Konoha and from his class. One of the teams that passed, was from Sunagakure. Naruto was instantly drawn to the first genin that led the team. He had bright red hair and green eyes with dark circles around them. A large symbol for 'love' was tattooed on the upper-right of his forehead. A large gourd was strapped to his back. He wore strange clothes Naruto hadn't seen before, but he guessed it was the garb of Suna.

But, what made the boy stand out was his eyes. Not that the dark circles made him look like a raccoon, but the murderous look within. His bright green eyes seemed dark and menacing. He was bad news and the evil sensing ability he guessed he had seemed to agree as the familiar chill ran up his spine.

Team Seven was the last to file in, all looked worse for wear. Especially Sasuke, from the way he was nursing his shoulder. It made Team Eight wonder how lucky they had been in the forest, running into as little as they did. After Team Seven came in, it didn't take long for the jonin sensei's to file in after.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto yelled out, waving his arms. He was honestly glad to see the woman he'd come to see as his new teacher.

Kurenai looked up with a relieved smile seeing her team looking alive and well. She had faith in her team to pass the first exam, but the second one she couldn't help but worry. The forest of death is a bad enough place without having hostile teams in the mix. Walking up to her team, she couldn't but help see a change in them; Especially Hinata. "I'm glad to see you're all okay. Did you have any troubles?"

"A few, nothing we couldn't handle though." Shino replied.

"It was easy enough, Hinata was the amazing one though! She fought Neji by herself and kicked his ass!" Naruto added, patting a blushing Hinata's back.

This surprised the jonin. "Is that true Hinata? Did you really beat Neji?"

"I. . .I didn't really beat him, I -" Hinata started, before being cut off by Naruto.

"What? Of course you won Hinata! You made him stop hating you and even got us the scroll. If that's not a win then I don't know what is!"

She blushed, feeling his confidence bleed into her own. "I-I guess I did."

Kurenai patted her only female student on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you Hinata. Good job."

Hinata looked up with a smile. Those few words made her day, the words she hoped her father could one day tell her, but most likely never would. But, that was okay, she had her teammates.

"What do you mean a preliminary round!" Naruto shouted to the Hokage, not believing what he was hearing.

After the deadline passed, all the teams who were in the tower passed. After a short celebration, the Hokage himself appeared before the teams. His arrival, came with the news of there having to be an immediate preliminary round because too many teams had passed.

Sighing at the outburst, Sarutobi smiled as he was glad to see Naruto was like his old self, if not matured somewhat. "As I said Naruto, too many teams have passed. We need to cut the group in half for the actual third round which will be a tournament."

The genin who passed all whispered among themselves, groaning about how they'd just finished a ten day survival exercise in what had to be the worst place in the elemental lands.

"I know this is hard, but it must be done. If anyone feels they cannot continue, speak up now. It won't affect your team, for now the rounds will be one on one combat." Sarutobi replied to the whispering groans. Having a moment that only a senior shinobi could, he thought, _They don't have much to complain about. They should of tried being a shinobi when Konoha was first being established. _He shuddered for a moment, thinking back to the dark ages of the ninja world. He tried to bury those memories at times with the knowledge that it would hopefully never come to that again.

"I forfeit, this is just too much!" Kabuto yelled out with a sheepish grin. The Hokage only nodded in acknowledgement as he watched the boy walk out.

Shikamaru tried to forfeit as well, but after a serious beating from his female teammate Ino, he was quickly silenced. After waiting a moment, Sarutobi nodded his head.

"Very well, I commend those who have found the strength to continue," he started, keeping his eye on Naruto. His boyish face was lit up with the idea of the challenge. He'd been wanting some action from the looks of it. "Everyone clear the ground and get to the catwalks. The matches will be announced shortly."

Team Eight walked up to the catwalk on the left side – Naruto jumped up – and waited at the end. Looking at the giant TV screens against the far wall, he guessed that's where the matches would be announced.

"I-I hope we don't have to fight each other, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, praying her request. She knew she would lose the fight, but more importantly she wouldn't try to beat him. She wanted to become a chunin, but she wanted Naruto to be one more. She would gladly forfeit if their names came up.

"You gotta have more faith in yourself Hinata-chan!" Naruto started with a smile. Then, placing a warm hand on her shoulder he continued, "if we fight, I want you to give it your all, 'cause I will too! What's the point of become a chunin if you do anything less?"

Hinata blushed at the contact and nodded, knowing he wouldn't be happy if she gave up. "You're right, Naruto-kun. If we fight, let's give it our all!"

"That's the spirit Hinata-chan!"

"Attention to the screens! The first match is being announced!"

Looking to the screens, Naruto saw all the competitors names start to quickly flash by, meaning it was going to be randomized. He wondered with morbid curiosity who he would fight. Looking around, he realized he only knew a couple of genin's fighting styles. _Sasuke would be hard opponent to beat, anyone from Team Ten would probably give me a run for my money too. That kid from Suna though. . . there's something up with him. _He couldn't help but stare at the raccoon kid again, his eyes were the stuff of nightmares.

"The first match will be Shino Aburame versus Misumi Tsurugi!"

Looking across the catwalk, he watched a genin who had been on Kabuto's team jump down from the rafters and walk to the center of the ring. He wore the same clothing as Kabuto, with the exception of a cloth covering his face allowing only his eyes to peer through clear glasses. "Shino, you ready?" Naruto asked.

"Always." Was the Aburames reply as he too leaped off the catwalk. If Naruto had to guess, the boy felt extremely confident now, especially since he still hadn't zipped up his coat.

Meeting in the center, Shino gave his opponent a curt nod, while he as met with only a stoic glare. Appearing in the center of them, was a jonin – judging by the vest – with a pale, sickly face. "*cough* My name is Hayate Gekko. * cough * A pleasure. The rules are simple, fight until I either declare the match finished or the other person is unconscious or dead. Understood?"

Both genin nodded and Misumi dropped into a fighting stance. "Very well, * cough * the first match begins. . .now! Fight!" with that, he quickly jumped back.

However, it seemed to be too fast, as both Shino and Misumi stood still waiting for the other to move.

Misumi watched Shino with a calculated stare. He briefly knew of the Aburame clan's technique of controlling insects. Enough so that he should end this match quickly. Charging forward, he lashed out at Shino with a straight right, which the boy easily dodged. Growling, he tried again with a left hook, but was dodged again. This continued for another minute, the older genin couldn't land a hit on Shino as the Aburame danced around his offensive. "Is all your going to do is dodge?" Misumi finally yelled, his temper flaring.

"I'm simply noting the flaws in your style. They're quite obvious." The Aburame replied, allowing a small smirk to show. Then, seeing a familiar punch, Shino sidestepped the punch and counterattacked with his own, hitting Misumi in the face.

This however, had been what Misumi was waiting for. He allowed himself to get hit and quickly grappled Shino's arm. Before Shino could properly react, Misumi wrapped himself around the genin, bending and lengthening his body in strange and unreal ways. "Game over," Misumi whispered with a smirk as he had Shino's head in a tight hold, ready to snap the genin's neck. "Give up now, or you die."

"Shino!" Naruto yelled, fearful for his teammate's safety. Hinata and Kurenai felt much the same as they watched with trepidation.

Shino only smiled though. "I'll never surrender. Kill me."

Misumi blinked, finding the situation funny. "You're that blinded by pride, eh? Very well." With a quick squeeze and move, Shino's neck made an echoing _snap _ that made Team Eight's hearts stop. But, before any other thought could register through their heads, Shino's body turned black and fell apart.

"What the –?" Misumi shouted, as he noted the black pieces that Shino's body disintegrated into were _moving. _With only a small scream, he was quickly covered entirely by the black mass.

"Insects?" Naruto whispered, half-wondering with dread if that's what happened to Aburames that died.

His question was soon answered though, as Shino seemed to appear from thin air in front of his opponent. "Defeated by a simple insect substitution and henge. Game over. Give up now, or you die." Shino repeated, mimicking his enemies words.

Misumi only groaned out though as he felt his very being get eaten alive by the insects.

Shino watched, looking for a sign of near chakra exhaustion. He didn't want to kill him, only to knock him out if he wouldn't surrender. Seeing that his opponent wasn't moving, he called his bugs back to him. The black mass quickly responded and crawled up through Shino's pants and over them to reach his arms.

Walking over, Hayate checked Misumi's pulse and saw it was still there. The genin himself however was knocked out cold. "Winner: Shino Aburame!"

Team Eight cheered loudly for their friend, Naruto being the loudest and drawing several glares and shouts. "Way to go Shino! Woo! Hell yes!"

The next few rounds didn't excite Naruto too terribly much. Next had been Sakura versus Ino, which had been slightly impressive, if not for the melodramatic display of Ino cutting off her hair and the two kunoichi knocking themselves out. Shikamaru and a sound genin came after, a girl named Kin. The fight ended rather quickly by Shikamaru slamming the female's head into the wall via his shadow manipulation jutsu. The rather sickening crunch of her head made Hinata cringe.

After that, was Dosu, another Sound shinobi, versus Choji. Choji unfortunatly lost the match, due to a strange device attached to Dosu's arms. Naruto made careful note of them as he may have to fight him. It made some form of powerful sound wave that could easily rupture eardrums. As Choji had experienced, it was not only painful but almost an instant loss.

Which brought them to the current match, which was Sasuke versus Yoroi, the match itself was pretty plain until Sasuke started getting strange black flame tattoos that started from his left side and slowly spread. Whatever they were, quickly retreated and Sasuke defeated Yoroi with a new taijutsu move Naruto hadn't seen before. Team Ten, besides them however whispered that he had stolen the move from Rock Lee, but with only a small change.

As the line up started to dwindle, Naruto looked around at what could be his, or Hinata's opponents. _The only ones left are the Suna team, Kiba, Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji , the last sound member, myself and Hinata. That leaves a good chance me or her will have to fight someone strong. _While he started to feel pumped that his match was coming up, he didn't want Hinata fighting the red head. His mind started to accuse the boy of being the one who killed the team in the forest. Not to mention the bad vibe he was getting from him. 

"The next match is Hinata Hyuuga versus. . ." Hayate started, waiting for the other name to show.

For a small moment, time froze for Hinata as she prayed to not have to fight Naruto.

"Tenten!" Hayate finished.

Hinata let out a small breath, she didn't have to fight Naruto. But, having to fight Tenten might just be as bad, she knew from her cousin that the girl was a weapons expert. Meaning all of her attacks were going to be deadly, and if she didn't stay on her toes she might not make it out alive from this fight.

"Don't sweat it Hinata-chan, you got this! Go in there and show her who the better kunoichi is!" Naruto said giving his teammate a thumbs up.

"Yes, I will!" Hinata replied with a smile, feeling her confidence boost at the small pep talk.

"I'm right here Naruto." Tenten sighed, feeling annoyed at the boy speaking like that when she was right there.

Looking around, Naruto put his hand over his eyebrows like he was trying to find something far away. "Huh? Who was that? Did you hear something Hinata-chan?"

Stifling a laugh at the other kunoichi's enraged curse, she thought _Thank you Naruto-kun. _ Following her fuming opponent down the stairs, they both positioned themselves across from each other. The heiress gave her opponent a small bow before falling into the gentle fist stance. "I-It's an honor to fight you."

Tenten grumbled as she pulled out a kunai.

"* cough* Alright, seeing that you both seem to be ready, Fight!"

Man, I knew I was going to have a hard time with this part. Sorry if anyone was disappointed with not getting every fight written out. If it feels rushed, it's because I didn't want this part of the story to stretch out for five chapters.

And, thank you for pointing out my mistake with Hinata calling Neji her sister. In a moment of assured ignorance I thought that was the correct word. I'll correct it one of these days, but from this chapter on it'll be correct.

As you've no doubt seen I'm mixing up the fights. I do this for a good reason, that I hope everyone will enjoy and not roast my ass for =P. Thank you again, recurring reviewers and new ones alike. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next installment should be out before too long.

P.S. I know the start of the chapter might be a bit too silly, but I wanted to add some humor to balance out the serious stuff, hope no one minded!


	12. Chapter 12

If Hinata hadn't been the victim of it, she would never of believed that some one could throw a kunai as fast as she was seeing. Tenten's accuracy was top notch and deadly. She hadn't been hit yet, but knew if her concentration faltered for even a moment she would get seriously hurt. She had barely been able to dodge an attack aimed for her stomach. Hinata knew she couldn't just keep dodging the way she was, sooner or later she'd either get fatigued or make a mistake.

Dodging another barrage of shuriken, one of which grazed her arm, she wanted to scream in frustration. _The only way I'm going to be able to get in close is if I can charge her. But, the way she throws her weapons forms an almost perfect defense. I'll have to step it up or I'll lose! _Pulling out a kunai of her own, she now added deflection to her defense.

Tenten cursed as she noticed Hinata gaining more ground thanks to the added defense. Her arms started to burn, as she threw faster, losing some accuracy but needed to keep the other kunoichi away. It was frustrating, not being able to hit her. Sure, she saw a few red cuts on her forearms, but that wouldn't stop Hinata. From what she could tell, she would run out of projectiles before the other girl would get fatigued. It didn't help any that her arms were starting to burn from exertion, either.

Hinata started advancing rapidly through the deadly web of kunai and shuriken, getting more nicks and cuts from the attacks. Thanks to her now active byakugan, she could see the trajectory of all the weapons however she was turned. From the catwalks, Naruto kept up a concentrated face, but inside felt nervous as he saw his only teammate flirting with death.

Rolling, twisting, blocking and parrying Hinata smiled as she saw the frequency of the projectiles dropping. _She must be getting close to empty, I can win this I know it! _Seeing she was only mere steps away from the older girl, Hinata threw her kunai straight at Tenten, watched her dodge it, then charged forward and unleashed a jyuuken strike into her stomach. To her dismay however, Tenten exploded into smoke and a kunai fell from her place.

Seeing the girl behind her, Hinata quickly ducked and rolled barely avoiding the razor sharp Chinese broadsword that swung over her in an arc. The princess was surprised at how quick the lithe kunoichi could swing such a large sword, having little time to consider a counter attack.

Tenten cursed as she missed on her tenth swing and was glad she had been training as hard as she had been, otherwise she'd be fatigued by now. The one thing most weapon users have problems with are moving targets. Throwing kunai at trees and slashing at prone logs was one thing, but having a live opponent who could predict and avoid your careful strikes was another. She was thankful for the Akamichi strength pill she had taken before the fight. Non-addictive and gave the user a small strength boost for an hour by allowing increased production of adrenaline to the system.

Hinata soon realized that her opponent was trying to back her into the area where her shuriken and kunai had fallen. It would become even more difficult to dodge when she would have to also watch her footwork on lest she step on the sharpened steel. Shifting her body right to dodge a vertical slash, she gasped as Tenten stopped her attack mid-slice and turned the sword in her grip at inhuman speed and turned it into a horizontal attack. Leaning back, almost parallel to the ground, an idea quickly formed in her head and she thrusted her chakra infused palm forward and struck the weapons expert in her wrist, closing off two tenketsu points. The shock of the blow was enough to loosen the grip Tenten had on her sword, and Hinata followed up just as quick with a punch to the flat blade and disarmed the other kunoichi.

Tenten yelled out in frustration as she lashed out with her left leg and kicked the heiress in the back of her head, knocking her off her feet and caused her to land on her face a foot away.

Hinata hissed from the pain in her head, but thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her veins, barely registered it. Quickly pushing herself off the ground, she avoided a kunai that had been aimed at her back. Seeing the other girl trying to reach for her weapon, Hinata jumped forward with a palm strike that Tenten had to hop back to avoid, unless she wanted to take a jyuuken strike in her head.

Now it was Tenten on the defensive, dodging the strikes that were almost as fast as Neji's. She was glad now to of been on the same team as a Hyuuga, for the gentle fist style was just as dangerous with indirect hits or attacks that barely missed. She knew she had to move in wide arcs, to try and entirely avoid the pulsing chakra that the heiress emitted from her palms.

Sidestepping a palm thrust, Tenten quickly thrust out with a kunai she held in a reverse grip and stabbed the other girl in the shoulder. Pushing the dagger into the hilt, she twisted it and heard Hinata scream out in agony. Snapping her leg out, she kicked the princess hard in the ribs and sent her rolling away.

Hinata was already in a world of pain as her arm felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. After getting a harsh kick that felt like it cracked a rib, she cried out every time the kunai hit the ground and moved in her, tearing more flesh and muscle. Getting up as fast as she could, trying to evict the pain from her mind she grasped the kunai with a shaky breath. With a pain and rage filled scream that echoed in the arena, she slowly wrenched and tugged at the kunai that her body didn't want to let out. Warm blood spilled from the wound and coated her hand and jacket. Tears streaming down her eyes, she finally pulled one final time and removed the foreign object from her. The relief she felt from finally getting it out momentarily overpowered the wracking pain that had overtaken her body.

Naruto was gripping the railing so hard his right arm had managed to bend and crimp the steel. His teeth were threating to break and shatter under the weight of his own rage from how hard he had his jaw clenched. Ever fiber of his being screamed _protect Hinata! _But he knew it was a test and couldn't do anything but continue to cheer her on and fruitlessly attempt to stem the tides of anger that slammed against his conscious like a tsunami. Every cry and drop of blood from the girl caused the his self-control to weaken and wane. The pain filled scream that filled the arena echoed through his mind and promised to imprint itself into his memory. He knew he had to get a reign on his anger or he could loose his control. The only thing he could do was to repeat to himself again and again that she would be okay and that this was just an exam.

Tenten, who had been calmly standing by, summoned a large spiked club and waited patiently for the other kunoichi to prepare herself. "You can surrender and save yourself a lot of pain." Tenten suggested, seeing the look on her opponents face after pulling the kunai out.

"Never!" Hinata replied with a agonized yell. Something was budding inside her, something dark and foreign that she rarely felt. Anger. Anger and burning desire to completely pound her opponent into the ground. Taking a look at the bloody kunai she held, she realized it was her first serious wound she'd received that drew blood. Compared to the feeling of getting her organs slammed with chakra, this was different. The sight of her own blood drew a macabre interest from the girl, knowing it was hers. Excitement and battle rage started to finally root itself in the girl's mind as she felt the reserved and quiet Hinata shuffle to the back of her mind. Letting an enraged battle cry loose from her throat, she flung the bloody dagger with all her might and charged after it, ready for round two.

All around the arena, Konoha genin and jonin alike couldn't believe what they were seeing. Anyone who had even been in a room with the Hyuuga heiress for a minute knew that she was an extreme introvert, quiet and reserved to the point where she rarely spoke to others first. Now, she stood in front of everyone like a flower in full bloom.

The kunoichi in the room were happy to see such determination and strength from one of their own. While kunoichi were respected and considered of equal worth publicly, they weren't always accepted among their male counterparts. So, seeing such an awesome display of courage and sheer guts was a good indicator of the future to them.

Sarutobi smiled, seeing the determination on Hinata's face despite her wound. It seemed to spur her on if nothing else. He was happy to see such development and prowess from the girl as the file he had on her said her biggest weakness was lack of any confidence in herself or her abilities. _Clearly, that is not the case here. I wonder how much Naruto has to do with that? _

Looking over at the child he could easily consider a grandson, he saw a mixture of pride and barely contained rage on his face as he destroyed the railing he was holding onto like a lifeline. It was a look he knew well, after all his long years of life he had seen many things. It was a look of concern that went beyond that of a teammate or ally. _I wonder if God will allow me to remain on earth long enough to see what those two will do with their lives? I hope so. _Chuckling, he felt the weight of a certain orange book in his robe and remembered a certain couple in one volume that reminded him of the two. He would have to read that one later.

Tenten couldn't believe the change in the Hyuuga princess' attitude. While she had been determined and ready before, now she was dead set. Her strikes no longer were unsure or aiming for non-vital areas, just a moment ago she barely dodged a jyuuken strike to her heart. She barely had time to counter with her weapon, only able to use it to block. She saw that the lavender girl had numerous red bleeding marks on her palms from where she had struck a spike on the mace. It didn't slow her down in the least.

Hinata screamed as she unleashed a flurry of jabs aimed around the gigantic mace Tenten had to use for defense, three of her attacks getting past and striking tenketsu around the other girl's left lung. Her arms stung and bled fresh from getting gouges along her forearms where she grazed the sharp spikes. It didn't matter, she was going to win and make Naruto proud of her!

Tenten cursed as she felt her breath constrict and knew the other girl was getting an upper hand. Allowing another strike to hit her gut she stomped down on Hinata's knee and caused the girl to falter long enough to swing her mace as hard as she could against Hinata's already injured right arm. Somehow, the girl kept her ground.

Hinata screamed out as pain exploded in both her arm and mind as she felt her right arm and shoulder shatter from the weight and force of the blow. Blood exploded from the wound and spill on the floor and her opponent. In a moment of clarity she completely shrugged off the pain and thrust her left arm forward, shooting a gigantic wave of chakra through Tenten's midsection. The weapon's expert was pushed back, ripping the spikes from Hinata's arm causing another wave of blinding pain. Seeing her opponent still standing, Hinata charged forward knowing she had to strike again or lose.

The strike Tenten received was unlike anything she had ever felt. Her heart almost stopped and it felt like her insides had been ripped apart and put back in. In that moment of excruciating pain, she honestly respected the other kunoichi. Tenten hated weakness of any kind, and Hinata proved she was far from the wallflower Neji had said she was. Seeing the girl charge again, she raised her mace again, feeling her body protest and scream to stop.

Hinata was upon her in less that three steps, seeing the other girl raise her mace, Hinata thrust her good arm forward and surged as much chakra as her arm would allow through. Aiming for her lower gut, Hinata mark found it's mark just as Tenten's mace once again slammed on her right shoulder, further deforming it, making Hinata buckle under it's weight as she fell to her knees.

Tenten coughed and blood flew from her mouth as she felt something rupture in her. Dropping the mace, she started feel light headed as she fell backwards. She didn't even register the pain of hitting the ground.

Hinata breathed hard and watched her opponent closely. Blood was flowing freely down her chest and back as her right arm hung limply and useless from her fractured shoulder. Adrenaline and rage still fueled her as she forced herself to stand again. She felt light-headed and dizzy, knowing she had lost a lot of blood.

No sooner than she had started to rise, Hayate was at their sides, kneeling at Tenten's side checking her pulse. Hinata realized that, in her battle rage, could of killed the other kunoichi. It was feeling that dumped ice water on her brain and brought her to that realization.

After a moment, Hayate nodded with a relieved sigh. "She's just unconscious." Standing back up, he raised his right arm. "Winner: Hinata Hyuuga!" Hinata let out a shaky breath.

Naruto had been on the verge of madness seeing the bloody and mangled limb that had been Hinata's right arm. But, even still, he was awestruck at the grit Hinata showed taking every hit from the more experienced kunoichi and even pulled out ahead and won. Using a chakra enhanced leap, Naruto cleared the ground between them quickly and landed at Hinata's side, cringing seeing the damage close up. "Hinata-chan! Are you okay?"

Hinata smiled weakly hearing his concern and glad to see he came to check on her. "N-Nothing I can't handle, t-thank you Naruto-kun." She replied, her words faltering from the pain that now was seeming to triple as every second ticked by. Then, she felt something akin to a switch flick in her head as she lost all semblance of balance and started to fall. Before she got anywhere close to the ground however, Naruto caught her. Naruto kneeled, and rested Hinata against his legs – being mindful of her arm, as he supported her head in his arms. She felt so light and fragile in his arms, he had to wonder how she was such a tough fighter.

"Heh, you're awesome, you know that Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling his worry start to fade as he saw medics dressed in white suits running up to the fighters with stretchers.

Hinata smiled, causing Naruto to blush for a reason he couldn't comprehend. Her hair was matted with sweat and blood and clung to her face. Her smile was tired and weary and her eyes conveyed much the same. But, pride in herself shone through as she accomplished what she set out to do. A small blush started to form on her porcelain skin, causing him to wonder what she was thinking.

Raising her left arm up, she gently touched the blonde's face feeling the warmth from his red cheek. The battle seemed to work much like alcohol for the girl as she felt an unusual amount of courage. She gently stroked his cheek and smiled at the way his blush seemed to deepen. He looked like he was going to stutter something out, but she interrupted him. "Naruto-kun, did you know your eyes look like the sky? They're really. . .beautiful."

The boy swore he felt himself almost about to pass out as all his blood must of rushed to his face. Nobody had ever said something like that to him. "I-I uh. . ."

Hinata could hear a small voice in the back of her mind screaming at her for what she just said, but she couldn't care less as she started to feel like she was falling asleep. The last thing she remembered seeing was the medics towering over Naruto and catching his attention.

After the medics had taken Hinata and Tenten, Naruto watched the retreating figure with mixed feelings coursing in him. He touched the cheek she had touched, and saw smeared blood on his finger. Smiling, he rubbed his finger on his cheek again, keeping the mark on him. Jumping back to the catwalks, he couldn't help but wish he could go with her, but he would only be in the way. Not to mention his match.

Before the next match could be announced however, there was the issue of clearing the field of weapons. As that was being done by proctors, the teams were chatting amongst themselves with the topic of the most exciting battle of the exam so far. No one could believe that meek Hinata showed the bloody determination to beat her opponent. Naruto couldn't exactly hear it, but saw Kiba across the way blushing and it looked like he was saying words like 'hot' and 'sexy' to Sasuke who had a smirk on his face as he nodded. Judging by the pissed off look Sakura had, he might be right. Naruto felt a strange emotion, he didn't know what to call it, but all he knew was that he wanted to rip off the Inazuka's face off and piss on it.

His wish however, would be granted by Rock Lee, as it was him against Kiba. The fight, if you could call it that, was short and completely one-sided as Lee executed a flawless victory over the other boy. Naruto cheered on the taijutsu specialist as he relished in every punch and kick.

The next match was Neji Hyuuga vs Zaku Abumi, the last member of the sound team. The match up was much like Hinata's fight, with the exception that Zaku;s sound technique wasn't nearly as effective a defense as Tenten's barrage of steel was. Neji was clearly the stronger shinobi and after a few minutes of evading, got in close and quickly ended the fight.

All that was left was Naruto and the team from Suna. Naruto bit his cheek as he noticed the red headed boy looking directly at him. His face was emotionless, betrayed only by his eyes that kept Naruto morbidly captivated. If the blonde didn't know any better, he was pining to fight him.

"Next match: Temari versus Kankuro!"

Then, Naruto watched as the emotionless mask completely slipped and a mad, wicked smile spread across Naruto's opponents face. It soon disappeared back into the mask, but his eyes still shone with murderous glee. _Shit, _ Naruto thought with a feeling akin to fear creeping up his spine. _This guy really wants to fight me, maybe kill. What the hell is his problem? _

As soon as he had thought it, memories flashed before him. Of a day he kept buried under staying busy with training and his life. They wouldn't be ignored this time. He lost all notice of the world around him, of the two sand shinobi fighting, of his teammate and sensei. The lights overhead seemed to dim to nothing and all sound muted. He closed his eyes against his will and felt himself being tugged deep into his own mind.

When he opened them again, he was in darkness. The sound of deep, feral growling echoed through his mind as he started to feel slow moving, filthy water run over his feet and seep into his sandals. The air was thick with a miasma of hatred and unbridled rage. Ahead of him, his vision adjusted to the darkness and saw far ahead a glowing red dot. He knew where he was and knew he'd been summoned. Taking a step forward, Naruto grimaced at the slimy feeling of the sewer water that seeped between his toes and over his feet. His own breathing and heartbeat echoed in the stone hallway as he walked towards the red glow.

Then, a deep violent voice rung through the sewer so loudly he swore it would rupture his eardrums. "_Bastard child. I would speak with you. Make haste and come to me." _

Naruto had known he'd been summoned to the Kyuubi's 'cage' and felt uneasy at the fact it could do that. Not taking any extra hurry, he walked towards the red glow with even steps, quelling the fear of the beast that was creeping into his resolve. He had no reason to fear the beast. He was it's jailer, not the other way around. As he neared, the breathing became louder and more aggravated. The red glow separated into two smaller ones that resembled eyes. Naruto finally reached the large area before the cage and heard an angry sigh.

"_About time. I wouldn't normally waste my breath on an insignificant human like you, but I feel it necessary to inform you of your opponents true nature." _

"True nature?" Naruto replied, wondering what the fox was getting at.

"_That boy is not normal. He is a jinchuuriki." _

Naruto gasped hearing this, "Y-you mean there's someone else like me?"

The Kyuubi sighed, as it seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with it's host. "_Of course you fool. You just happen to be the lucky one and have the greatest of the tailed beasts residing within you."_

_Lucky he says. . . _Naruto grumbled in his mind. Then again, it did save his life.

"_There are nine tailed beasts and countless lesser demons. While the lesser demons can be slain or exorcised we tailed beasts are of a higher echelon of the demon world. Our chakra is the true soul of our being and because there is no way to destroy chakra you cannot destroy us, only seal. So it has been that you humans seal us away into yourselves. It is rather irritating." _

Naruto listened intently, digesting the information.

"_I have digressed however, that boy is the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, the one tailed raccoon. I don't know this for a fact, but judging by the markings around his eyes and attitude he certainly bears a resemblance to the hosts I've seen in the past." _

_So I was right, there was something off about him. _Naruto thought solemnly, now regarding his fight in a new light. It brought a myriad of questions to mind, would his opponent use his demonic powers? If so, Naruto would have to respond in kind and he doubted he could pass it off as a secret bloodline he'd kept hidden. Demonic chakra was so evil you could almost taste it's foulness.

"_The one-tailed raccoon is a deviant even among we demons. He is unstable at best and completely mad at his worst. He kills and destroys without impunity. I at least only kill if I am not made the proper offering." _

"Oh yeah?" Naruto scoffed, "and what's that, all the virgins?"

_"Only the most beautiful one." _The Kyuubi howled out, laughing.

"Sorry I asked. . ." Naruto responded, disgusted at the idea.

"_Call upon my power boy. Otherwise I will step in." _ The Kyuubi spoke, any joviality gone from his voice. _"You cannot defeat the Ichibi alone." _

Naruto felt himself jarred back to reality with the final statement. He was in a small panic at first, feeling like he'd just woken after being put under from an anesthetic. After calming himself for a moment, he heard his temporary sensei speak. "Naruto? Are you okay? You had your eyes closed and it sounded like you had a waking nightmare or something." Kurenai asked, her voice heavy with worry.

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I, uh. . . I was just remembering this dream I had last night about Ichiraku going out of business! It was terrible!" he responded, waving his arms about.

Kurenai sighed with a laugh and shook her head, turning back to the battle.

Naruto sighed and started to turn back himself, but caught Shino's eyes as he turned. The other boy hadn't bought it for a second. Naruto gulped and mouthed, 'I'll explain later.'

Shino nodded and gave him a look that promised the Aburame would keep him to that.

Kankuro and Temari continued their heated battle for a long time. Being teammates, they knew each other's strength and weaknesses. It was rather interesting to most the Konoha genin who were present, having not seen a puppet master in action before.

It was obvious that Kankuro was at a disadvantage because his primary strategy focused on using his puppet to keep his opponent busy and keep himself protected. Then, he would attack with poison gas and poisoned needles. If those didn't work, the puppet also had numerous hand-to-hand weapons built in.

Unfortunately, Temari could attack them both with her wind attacks and keep the poisoned needles and gas far from her. It became rather dangerous as the deadly gas was wafting towards the catwalks. But, thanks to a quick wind ninjutsu from the Hokage, it was easily dismissed.

After a tense twenty minutes of fighting, Temari unleashed her Wind Scythe Jutsu and cut the puppet to pieces and gave the puppeteer a deep gash in his side. While it wasn't crippling, the puppet user surrendered.

Naruto could feel every second tick by after the end of the fight as he knew it could go very badly for him. He was kicking himself, remembering his promise to never run from another battle or to fear an opponent. But, he felt in this case, the fear may be deserved. Naruto knew the Kyuubi was right about the unstable part as he watched the red head's frown twitch at times into a cruel smile. Naruto let out a deep breath, and started stretching.

"Nervous?" Kurenai asked, not blaming him if he was. The sand kid gave her the creeps from the way he was looking at Naruto.

"Who me?" Naruto laughed as he finished working his arms and started to stretch his legs. "Never."

"Next match: Gaara of the Sand versus Naruto!"

_So, his name is Gaara. _Naruto thought to himself, the name of his opponent revealed. Gaara wasted no time as he jumped down into the ring and looked up at Naruto as if to say 'get the hell down here'.

Naruto jumped down to the field and walked to where he stood across the other jinchuuriki. Then, in a voice that Naruto felt belonged in a horror movie his opponent spoke in a dry voice.

"So, you are the host of the Kyuubi. The Ichibi has told me much about him. I look forward to killing you."

"Freaking psycho." Naruto muttered, as his fear was confirmed. This boy was out for his blood. But, now that he knew that, "If it's blood you want. Blood you'll get." Naruto drew his greatsword and slung it over his shoulder.

Gaara grinned as Naruto swore he saw sand start to swirl around the boy. "Good! We are monsters and we should act like it! Let's see who's existence will be confirmed today!"

Hayate, who had been quietly standing by, rose his hand. "Fight!"

"_Make me feel alive!_" Gaara shouted, waisting no time in sending a small barrage of shurikens made from sand at Naruto.

Naruto easily dodged the assault and charged forward looking to end this match as quick as possible. Moving faster than the other boy had clearly expected, Naruto's sword sped through the air like lightning and was aimed for the Ichibi container's head. Before it met it's mark however, it was stopped by a patch of sand that had materialized to block it. _Geez, it felt like hitting a rock wall, what did he do to make that thing? I didn't see any seals! _

"Mother will never let me get hurt." Was all Gaara spoke before a spike of sand erupted from the floor and sought to impale the blonde. Naruto moved faster though, and jumped backwards, only to meet more spikes that charged his way. With four quick slashes though, the broke off and fell to piles on the floor.

"Good. I was hoping you wouldn't be another worthless opponent. I've had so many pathetic _ninja _die by my hands I was getting bored. I can only truly prove my existence by slaughtering the strongest!"

"Dammit! Do you ever shut up!" Naruto yelled as he dodged another onslaught of sand shurikens. _Dammit, he can attack me no matter where I am. Somehow he's controlling sand seemingly at will and with no hand seals. _

For the next minute, Naruto avoided and destroyed more sand spikes and shurikens before letting out a yell. "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Three more Naruto's appeared and charged Gaara.

Winding through spikes, the four Naruto's attacked at different spots at Gaara's body, only to all be stopped by a shield of sand that formed an egg shaped dome around his body.

"What the –?" Naruto was able to utter out before four smaller spikes the size of small steel pipes shot out from the dome and killed the three clones. Naruto let out a yell as he felt the sharp sand pierce his gut and propel him backwards as the spike lengthened. Still impaled on it, Naruto could barely utter a word before he watched five shurikens emerge from the dome and fly towards him. He barely had time to raise his sword to block one that was aimed for his heart.

He watched, as one of the shurikens grew larger and completely encompassed his right eye's sight. With a piercing scream that echoed in the room, Naruto's head shot back then dropped and quickly as the sand weapon pierced his right eye. He barely registered the other three embedded themselves in his arms and shoulder.

The crowd that knew Naruto yelled out, in fear that the boy had been killed. Sarutobi watched with a grim face as he watched blood pour from the pierced eye and splashed over his eye and drip down his chin. He felt sick, seeing another one person close to him be injured so.

Then, slowly a deep evil laughter emerged from the dome as part of it broke away to reveal Gaara's face. "Is that all Naruto Uzumaki? Is that all the fun you'll give me! I know you're not fighting at your full power! Unleash the dreaded Kyuubi so that I can feel alive!" he screamed, mad laughter mixing in.

A slow feral growl escaped Naruto's throat and he slowly raised his head. Glaring at the other boy with his only good eye, he felt bubbling red anger fill his veins and chakra pathways. "_Shut your goddamn mouth you freak! I'll kill you!" _Bringing his sword up, he slammed it down on the sand spike. It broke it in half and the sand fell away including the bit that was still attached to him. The shurikens he had embedded in him also broke apart. Bleeding profusely, Naruto growled again as he hunched over and could already feel the Kyuubi's chakra, unfiltered by the tampered seal, flood his wounds and start to seal them. He didn't know what it would do to his right eye, but could careless.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara shouted out, as the sand from the spike shot around Naruto's feet. It was soon joined by more from his dome and covered the boy's body, the only visible part of him being the right arm that clenched his sword tightly. Slowly, the boy was raised into the air by the other jinchuuriki that was watching with mad glee at the incoming blood bath.

The other shinobi could only watch in horror, as Gaara turned his hand and clenched it.

"_Sand burial!" _

Whee, that was fun! I'd had this combination packed away in my mind for sometime and I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a Naruto vs Gaara in the preliminaries. Blood will be spilled unto the sand before this fight is over, but whose?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll be hard at work on the next. Thank you again to all my reviewers!


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